A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 163
January 16, 2016
Guest Post – Erin McGowan and Kindle Scout
Some of you may have heard of Kindle Scout, I have but not in much detail. Today I welcome Erin McGowan, who has her book Mage Awakening in the programme and she’s here to talk about the process.
Over to you Erin.
Links
Scout: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/19XDMJTWC38ZN
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ErinMWrites/?ref=hl
FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/168783473482782/
Twitter: @Erinm128
Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/beachbum128
Kindle Scout
The Kindle Scout program benefits Kindle publishing, authors, and readers. An author submits an unpublished book to the Scout program for thirty days of public viewing, during that time the author can promote the book any way he or she chooses. Readers can save the book for later or nominate it if they are interested in that book based on the cover, title, blurb, summary, and sample of the book. The sample is around 5,000 words, and usually shows the reader around three or four chapters. There is also an author bio, and the author can choose to answer some questions, mainly about reading, writing, and their book.
Kindle Scout shows the author daily stats on page views and how many hours a day the book was on the Hot and Trending list, but not how many nominations the book has. Those reports are updated once a day around 5:30 in the morning. At the end of the thirty day campaign the Kindle Scout team has up to fifteen days to decide if they will award a five year contract to the author for that book. If the book is picked up by Kindle the author receives a $1,500 advance, and has the promotional power of Kindle backing that book. A lot of authors hear back from Kindle after 48 hours, but there are some instances where the wait is longer.
Personally, I have found the people at Kindle Scout to be very nice, professional, and accommodating. The campaign requires more promotion than I was expecting, and I think that I would have been in a better position if I were a more established author, but this has been a great learning opportunity and has given me a chance to reach more potential readers.
My book, “The Mage: Awakening” is about a thirteen-year-old girl who discovers her magical powers when she is four. Her disastrous home life turns unbearable, and she uses her talent for channeling emotions right before she runs away from home. A fully trained mage tracker, Cadence, feels her use that talent and tracks her down. He informs her that she is a mage and can go to school to learn more magic and develop more facets of her magical talent. Her new school is in the in Faerie realm, and Katrina quickly makes friends with other mage students and Fae students, alike. Katrina has a lot on her plate, juggling her old family, a new family, friends, school, and a new romance, when accidents start happening to the Fae students. People start questioning whether the accidents are all that accidental, or if someone has an agenda to make the Fae pay.
January 14, 2016
January 3, 2016
Experiments in promotion – part 1
As some of you know I not a big fan or marketing but books don’t sell themselves. In a market place where there are millions of books getting one’s novels seen is tricky.
So what marketing strategy works for me? Honestly I have no bloody idea. Recently I had Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse on freebie for a few days – results were OK. Some downloads but not huge amounts. That said it is a short story and I didn’t promote it much. Whether those freebies will result in sales for the audio book or garner reviews is yet to be seen.
What I have found is author/character interviews help – at least initially and at least sometimes. Of course the difficulty there is finding them and keeping the content interesting. They also take away from writing time.
I tried a Thunderclap a couple of times last year with very mixed results so I’m going to do a couple more – one starting today to promote The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles Book I and another when the audio is released.
I may also try one for Outside the Walls if I can sort the banner out. Thunderclaps are an interesting concept – the basic package is free to set up and only needs 100 supporters to go live. There are several Thunderclap groups on Facebook and they do require a lot of pushing. Is there a bump in sales during/after? I’ll let you know.
Anyway if you’d like to support my campaign here’s the link. All you need to do is click the link then support using the big red buttons (everyone likes pressing big red buttons! Or is that just me?) http://thndr.me/CSHXHu
I’m trying another Kindle Countdown for Stolen Tower – I tried one last year, again with mixed results. The
UK Kindle Countdown http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Tower-...
The original list price is £1.72 but it will be on offer for 99p until the 7th January.
There will also be a Countdown for the Amazon.com store starting 8am PST http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Tower-Li...
I’ll let you know how they go.
When Book I is released on audio I may well do a blog tour or paid ad. I’m always looking for new ideas so any advice welcomed.
January 1, 2016
Author Interview 102 – Dylan Callens
Welcome to Dylan Callens.
Please tell us a little about your writing – for example genre, title, etc. My novel is called Operation Cosmic Teapot. The title is derived from Bertrand Russell’s analogy of a teapot floating in space, which represents that the burden of proof lies on a person making a philosophic claim. In particular, he says that those believing in a god need to provide evidence.
I’d say that the novel is contemporary fiction with great deal of humour thrown into the mix.
Where do you find inspiration? Inspiration comes mostly through reading philosophy. When I read something that I think is really thought provoking my mind starts spinning stories. I start to wonder what would happen if…
Aside from that, I find inspiration in conversations with others throughout the day. I teach media studies and am always interested to hear what bizarre things might come out of my students’ mouths. Their idiosyncrasies allow me to explore unusual modes of thinking.
Do you have a favourite character? If so why? In Operation Cosmic Teapot, that is a difficult question to answer. I love God because he’s really quite down to Earth. He’s struggling to stay afloat, like so many people that I know. Myself included, in some ways.
Then there’s Nietzsche. He’s had such a hard life and I cannot help but feel sorry for him. I understand why he wants to seek revenge on God. Yet, his antics make me laugh.
Are your characters based on real people? Yes, in this novel they are. Half the characters are based on philosophers while the other half are based on gods. All of their histories are three-quarters true. The other quarter is poetic license.
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Do you enjoy this aspect of creating a novel and what are your favourite resources? Oh goodness! There was so much research required for this book. I spent more time researching than writing, I think. There was a great deal to wrap my head around.
First, there was all of Nietzsche’s history to consider. There is quite a bit of debate about his life, such as whether or not he had syphilis, or how he ended up in a catatonic state. I always went with the stories that seemed the most humorous to me.
There was God’s history to deal with as well. Outside of the Bible, there are other writings about him, most notably the Ugaritic Scripts. For me, dealing with this history was a mess because there was so much writing done. What I essentially did was just find a narrative that suited my purpose. I’m sure that there will be a number of complaints about inaccuracies.
The list of research goes on and on from there, but I think that’s enough for now.
Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this is important in a book? The central message in the book, I suppose, is that history is a fluid thing. It changes depending on perception. If we were to look at it in a post-modernist way, then certainly having people in charge of gods indicates that I am questioning authority. But as a post-modernist I wouldn’t dare tell readers what message they are supposed to get from Operation Cosmic Teapot.
Important? Important to me. I’m not sure that it will be important to anyone else. It’s unique, I’m sure of that. I’d like to think that others will feel it’s important. If not, I just hope that they are entertained.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why do you think this might be?Absolutely! I think that the general public regards self-publishing as a world meant for those that aren’t good enough for publication houses. My guess is that it’s hard for those that don’t write to understand why someone would want to go the indie route.
What are your opinions about authors commenting on reviews? How important are reviews? I wouldn’t dare comment on reviews of my own work. I fully believe that if someone hates my book, then they should slam it. I’ll shake my head about the review but I won’t give it a second thought, unless there was something in the review that could help me improve. Given the nature of my book, I fully expect that there will be those that hate it.
I think over time reviews are less important. As a new writer, I see them as critical because it’s one more way to get my name out. Even the bad ones have an upside, I suppose.
When buying a book do you read the reviews? Yes, but for entertainment purposes only. If a book grabs my attention, then I’m going to pick it up.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers? First, don’t stop working when the book is done. I’d say network over promoting, but it’s kind of the same thing, in a sense. I think it’s easy to get discouraged when one avenue shuts down. The internet provides so many possible networking opportunities that if you keep plugging away, something is bound to work.
Second, make sure your media looks as professional as you can make it. I find it hard to buy a book from someone if their website (for example) looks like it was done by a child. For me, if a person can’t take the time to figure out how to design a good website, then what is the inside of their book going to look like?
Third, continue revising your book after your first publication. If you find errors, or a reviewer points out some kind of important inconsistency, then it’s a good idea to fix up that error and publish a new edition. We’re lucky in an electronic world to have that opportunity.
Can you give us a silly fact about yourself? I am very good with a yo-yo. I have considered entering professional competitions.
Book links, website/blog and author links:
Email: dylan@cosmicteapot.net
Website: www.cosmicteapot.net
Twitter: @TheNitzsch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heaveninctheseries
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B018YXFOUK
Author Interview Number 101 – Matthew Olney
Welcome to Matthew Olney and the first interview of 2016.
Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born and raised in Cornwall but now live in Bristol with my fiancée where I work as a copywriter.
Please tell us a little about your writing – for example genre, title, etc. I have dabbled in several different genres over the years. The first book I ever wrote was a science fiction (which I have since redone and re-released on kindle). After that I tried my hand at historical fiction before giving fantasy a shot. I self published Heir to the Sundered Crown in 2014 and it took me by surprise at how well it did. It reached the top 10 in the US and UK Kindle fantasy charts in August of 2014, I always say that my greatest writing achievement so far is that for a week I outsold Game of Thrones! The second book in the Sundered Crown Saga, War for the Sundered Crown was released in November 2015.
Where do you find inspiration? I have always had a pretty active imagination but I would have to say that I find most of my inspiration from history and videogames. I have always been a fan of history as the stories from our past are often more epic than fiction.
Do you have a favourite character? If so why? My favourite character in my Sundered Crown Saga is Ferran of BlackMoor. He is cool and calculating as well as being a bit of a softy at heart. The fact that he is a magic wielding monster slayer also adds to his cool factor.
Do you have a character you dislike? If so why? I don’t dislike any of my own characters, even the villains as they are often the most fun to write.
Are your characters based on real people? Some are. I take peoples characteristics and sometimes put them into a character.
Have you ever used a person you don’t/didn’t like as a character then killed them off? Ha, no not intentionally…
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Do you enjoy this aspect of creating a novel and what are your favourite resources? I love world building. By making a world that seems alive puts a reader deeper into the story. For map making I use Campaign Cartographer and as for research again I turn to history and religious texts as these contain great stories that I can base my own world upon. I particularly enjoyed writing the worlds creation story as well as making timelines charting key events from the past.
Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this is important in a book? I think the message I try to put across is that persistence can lead to both great and terrible things. For example the villain has for thousands of years kept trying to have his way, and the hero never gives up despite the trials he faces. As for how important it is for the book, it will be important as the series progresses.
Sort these into order of importance: Great characters; great world-building; solid plot; technically perfect. Can you explain why you chose this order? (Yes I know they all are important…) Great characters as you need interesting heroes and villains to keep a reader interested. If they don’t care for the hero then why bother reading? A solid plot is vital to keep the reader craving more. Great world building as if it is not believable it will break the immersion. Finally technically perfect. I don’t believe anything can ever be perfect, but it should be of a quality that does not ruin the story for a reader.
In what formats are your books available? (E-books, print, large print audio) Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason?Currently the Sundered Crown Saga is available as both E-book and paperback. I would love to turn them into audio books someday too.
Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? When first starting out I self edited and quickly realised that I was pretty bad at it. Thankfully I am now a member of Firebound Books a small publisher created by me and three other writers. Rob May in particular is a legend and has helped me with editing. A book should always be read by more than one person as an individual always misses bits. Luckily with E-books anything that were missed the first time round can be fixed later a distinct advantage over print as even traditionally published books often have errors in them.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why do you think this might be? I think there is a bit of elitism to be honest. Those who have been traditionally published often think their works are better than those brave enough to go it alone. I have reads many books from both and a lot of the time it is hard to tell the difference.
Do you read work by self-published authors? All the time. I feel that traditional publishers these days seem afraid to take a chance on new writers and as a result some fantastic stories are missed. Self publishing gives those stories an outlet and I think the world is the richer because of it.
What are your opinions about authors commenting on reviews? How important are reviews? At first I used to comment on reviews but now I don’t. Everyone is entitled to their opinion even they can come across sometimes as harsh or needlessly critical. Reviews are very important, every author wants to know what people think of their work.
When buying a book do you read the reviews? All the time.
What are your reviews on authors reviewing other authors? If the author has genuinely read the book then I see no harm in it as long as the author doing the review understands that every author has their own way of doing things.
What experiences can a book provide that a movie or video game cannot? A book can provide so much more detail than a movie and allows a reader to use their imaginations. I write as though the reader is playing the story as a movie in their mind. Video games I think can be an excellent way of telling a story. I recently just finished the Witcher 3 and man was that a great tale.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers? 1 – Make sure to make time to write even if it’s just a few words a day. 2 – Learn from your mistakes and listen do not be disheartened by critics, learn from them. 3 – Get the story down first before worrying about editing, without the story there is nothing worth editing anyway.
What are your best marketing/networking tips? What are your worst?Take advantage of social media and contact other writers for advice. Paying for adverts can be very hit and miss so do your research.
Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Did you enjoy it? I recently reread World War Z. Love it.
Can you name your favourite traditionally published author? And your favourite indie/self-published author? My fave traditionally published author is Bernard Cornwell. The way he writes history and battles in particular has been a big influence on me. My fave self-published author is my fellow Firebound writer Rob May. His Kal Moonheart trilogy is great fantasy.
What are your views on authors offering free books? It can be a good way to entice new readers but I feel an author should only give away short stories. We all have to make a living so why give away a book that took years to write for nothing?
Do you have a favourite movie? I am a massive Star Wars fan so Empire Strikes Back.
Do you have any pets? No.
Can you name your worst job? Do you think you learned anything from the position that you now use in your writing? Working in a supermarket and dealing with grumpy customers was a bit soul destroying. I did learn from it however and in some ways it inspired me to write.
Book links, website/blog and author links:
Book links-
Heir to the Sundered Crown- http://authl.it/3hw?d
War for the Sundered Crown- http://geni.us/B015JPB310
Website – http://msolneyauthor.com/
Author page – http://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Olney/e/B00LE9XEBS/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
December 31, 2015
2015 – A Writer’s Diary
Welcome back to the Library of Erana and the last day of 2015. So another year has dashed past and I’m sitting at the end of 2015 and wondering where it went. I have a theory – someone is siphoning time out of the weekend and holidays and sneaking it into the working day. That’s why days at work seem to go on longer than the same day on leave.
What has 2015 brought me? A house! We bought our first house in April and it’s great. Whilst the place isn’t perfect it’s a good deal better than renting a damp flat and my overall health is better. Also we now have a delightful doggy – she’s grown from a tiny puppy to almost adult and we adore her. Every day she makes us smile and she’s such a happy and joyful creature.
Work… still there. Still stressful and busy but at least I am working and thankful for that.
Writing wise I’ve not been as productive as I planned – mostly due to the factors above but I’ve not been idle.
Stolen Tower – The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles Book III was published in March 2015. https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/...
The third edition of Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles Book I was published with quite a few revisions and a new cover for the paperback. http://www.amazon.com/Light-Beyond-St...
Outside the Walls was revised and expanded and the audio book produced with narrator Melanie Fraser. It sounds great. There is something magical in hearing one’s book read aloud.
https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/outside-the-walls-fantasy-short-story-new-release/
https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/outside-the-walls-now-in-print/
Audio
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outside-the-Walls/dp/B0189QHB12/
http://www.amazon.com/Outside-the-Walls/dp/B0189Q944E/
http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Fiction/Outside-the-Walls-Audiobook/B0189QCHI4/
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Outside-the-Walls-Audiobook/B0189Q95XO
Warrior’s Curse was produced in audio by narrator Rob Goll – who has also done Heroika: Dragon Eaters for Perseid Press and will be narrating Light Beyond the Storm and Shining Citadel in 2016.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Tales-of-Erana-The-Warriors-Curse-Audiobook/B00UG8AWU4/http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Tales-of-Erana-The-Warriors-Curse-Audiobook/B00UG8I5SK
Heroika: Dragon Eaters was published – along with the accompanying audio book. Please check out the A Week with the Dragon Eaters posts for author and character interviews.
https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/heroika-dragon-eaters-audio/
I’ve done 17 guest interviews elsewhere including the latest with Melanie Fox here. https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-author-a-l-butcher/ and four character interviews including Mirandra, Ephany, Dii’Athella and the Thiefmaster.
Oh and a course on Roman and Greek Mythology – which was really interesting. https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/...
There have been over 160 blog posts – including another Week in Hell, a Week with the Dragon Eaters, character, editor and author interviews, and several fantasy based posts and reblogs.
10 tips and lessons
1) I’m rubbish at using Twitter! Does it help marketing? Not a bloody clue. Many people say it is a vital tool; personally I’m not convinced as I have never bought a book or product from a twitter link and it looks like many people shouting to me. That said I do follow a few authors and it is useful for sharing blog posts. I follow the history, nature an astronomy posts too.
2) There is never enough time or energy to write. This is, of course, mostly my fault. I work full time and often I don’t have enough energy or brain power to do much but poke about on Facebook.
3) Networking is vital. I knew this already but it’s good to have one’s knowledge reinforced. Indie authors are, generally, a supportive lot and I’ve traded interviews, found great books to read and got to know a wide variety of people through social media and networking. It’s a good way of getting support for new releases, blogging, Thunderclap and more.
4) There are some total asshats about and many more idiots. This too has been obvious for a while. Recent events have NOT made the world a safer place. Whilst I agree that terrorism is bad, and religion pernicious bombing the crap out of an area that is already a wasteland is not going to make things better. Humans have an amazing capacity to be total asshats to one another – I can’t think of any other animal which is so unpleasant to its own kind – of course not everyone is like that and certain groups have been labelled as terrorists when it is the actions of a minority. History tends to repeat itself – and in many ways humans have a short memory – or at least a selective one. Often people are quick to judge, especially when they don’t know all the facts. Ignorance leads to fear and fear to hatred, then the killing begins anew, or the ghetto, or the pogrom, or the genocide….
Facebook especially fuels both idiocy and vitriol. There are lots of calls from freedom of speech but – of course that depends on who is doing the speaking and what they are saying. There is either freedom to say what the hell you like – and that goes for everyone or there’s not – some limitations are put in place. But then where and when does that stop. Perhaps if people thought before they spoke (or typed) such limitations wouldn’t be needed. Just because you CAN say something doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
Anyway enough of the political talk…don’t get me started I spent 7 years studying politics, sociology, ethics and philosophy and it taught me not to get involved in debates with people who won’t listen and assume they are always right…
5) Marketing is a lottery. I’ve tried some new tactics this year – including Twitter and Thunderclap – results have been mixed. Both are free – at least at the basic level so although not particularly successful no outlay was lost. I’ve found a mix of things helps. Don’t rely on one strategy – vary your approach and keep things interesting.
tps://www.thunderclap.it
6) Write every day, even if it’s not working on a book or story. A blog post, a facebook post, a letter or email to someone – it all keeps the brain cells ticking. Write stories when you can and don’t force it. The world is NOT going to end if that story isn’t finished this week. That’s one of the many reasons I love indie publishing. With a few exceptions the person setting the deadlines is me and so if the book isn’t finished or life intervenes (which it does frequently) then it doesn’t matter as much.
7) Be nice to people. If you can’t be nice be quiet.
8) Vary what you write – if you’re struggling with a project then step away from it and work on something else. I’ve found that focusing on other things means my brain can be ticking away in the background sorting out the problems with the other project.
9) Some things can’t be fixed. It’s easy to spend a lot of time on a project or idea only to find it doesn’t work, or its crap. Yes I know this contradicts point 8 a bit but sometimes an idea simply won’t work – or at least not in the way you want. That’s fine. Sometimes shit happens (or doesn’t) don’t force it to be something it isn’t. Readers can spot a forced plot. If it doesn’t work then change it – look at your options. Can it be used for something else? What is causing the issue? Can it actually be fixed? Sometimes it can’t. Sometimes it becomes something else. That’s fine too.
10) Read more. Reading is great relaxation, great research and great enjoyment. The more you read the better writer you’ll become.
So what’s planned for 2016?
I have lots of plans for 2016 – most of which may never materialise but it’s still good to plan.
These are not in any order….
Hopefully a second Heroika volume will happen (for Perseid Press). Not going to mention too much of my WIP but the volume should be great, having seen a few snippets of draft stories. Hopefully my story will be up to scratch and I’m sure the book will feature on the blog when it’s published.
There will be at least one short Tales of Erana, possibly two. I’m planning to release Just One Mistake with a few revisions as a standalone. It’s already featured in Nine Heroes plus my own Tales of Erana Volume One but I have idea how it can be expanded. I think it would make a great audio short story.
Book II is currently being revised so there will be a new edition of that sometime early to mid 2016.
Book I in audio. Rob Goll is narrating that and we are hoping for spring 2016 release on that. I can’t wait to hear what he’s done.
Tales from the Golden Mask – this has been a WIP for a while. Hopefully the first part of the series will be released by the summer. It’s a co-authored erotic adventure set in an Erana of the past. We think it’s a lot of fun, with feisty women, sexy heroes and of course a goodly helping of nookie. This one doesn’t take itself or the world too seriously and is aimed at a slightly different audience.
The Kitchen Imps – a short book of fantasy tales for kids and the young at heart. I really need to work on these, as this is another project which has been around for a while.
I’m contemplating changing the blog – currently this is the free wordpress type but the upgraded version has a lot more features. I’m hoping to attach a website dedicated to just the books as well. I’ll let you know how that goes…
Also looking to participate in a blog tour – I’ve hosted people before but I’ve never done it myself. Will be an interesting experience and I’ll review it after.
Want to try and read more, and review more. I often stick to re-reads but I’m going to try and branch out for new authors. I’ll try and be better at posting reviews as well.
Looking for plenty more interviews – both giving and receiving – guest posts and articles.
Signed up for a course on medieval magic, one on Ancient Greece and also looking at ancient Egypt. Plus whatever else takes my fancy and I can manage with the other commitments.
I’ll look back in twelve months and see how many of these I’ve done.
Feel free to comment on ideas, suggestions for the blog and contacts about interviews.
Hoping 2016 is good for you, my followers, and you’ll keep viewing the blog.
Review – The Martian – Andy Weir – Sci-fi
Review
The Martian – Andy Weir – Science Fiction/Adventure.
5 Stars
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martian-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00FAXJHCY/
I bought this on the back of trailer for the film – which I rarely do. It looked amazing, and it was.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martian-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00FAXJHCY/
This can best be summed up as Robinson Crusoe in space. In a future not too distant or improbable mankind is beginning to colonise Mars. It is still a hostile, alien world filled with danger but in the spirit of exploration and adventure that has marked humanity since the dawn of history this is merely a hindrance, not a barrier. When one of their number is swept away, injured in a terrible storm the rest of the crew must make the difficult decision to leave a man behind – if they look for him then no one gets home. This is not really their story.
Watney, the man who was last seen disappearing in a dust storm, badly injured and left for dead is alone, light years from home on a planet determined to kill him. Rescue is years away, if it comes, and so he must use that determination and pioneering spirit which marks out his ilk. This is HIS story. The excitement picks up quickly and does not let up. Watney’s dark humour and positive disposition weave a spell on the reader, one wants him to meet the challenge, to survive and to do what no one has done before.
Without wishing to give too much away the book progresses to NASA and Earth discovering his plight and he becomes the most famous man on two planets, as it were. Think of the real life coverage of the brave Apollo 13 crew – the whole world watched as they defied the odds and came home. That is the feeling here. I found myself unable to put the book down, and could imagine watching on TV as the story unfolded. I REALLY wanted Watney to survive. I really felt for his crew and his dilemma.
There is some technical language – which is mostly explained in the diaryesque way of storytelling. It certainly doesn’t overwhelm the story and brings a sense of realism. It’s science fiction with a good dose of science fact.
If I have a criticism it’s perhaps some of the minor characters are not nearly as well defined as Watney, but then again there is a big cast and this is not really their story.
Overall – Excellent, exciting, well written and engaging.
Meet Author A.L. Butcher – Mercedes Fox ~ Author
Hello followers! Author A. L. Butcher is in the house to answer a few questions. Why do you write? I write because I enjoy it, and it keeps me sane. I’ve always been a storyteller and poet, losin…
Source: Meet Author A.L. Butcher – Mercedes Fox ~ Author
Into the Fray – Building a Battle Sequence
An interesting article from Chris O’Mara regarding writing battle scenes.
Source: Into the Fray – Building a Battle Sequence
December 28, 2015
New Year Promotions and Sales!
Starting 29 Dec – 1st Jan Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse will be FREE in all the Amazon stores!
Please note the audio book will NOT be free however it is pretty cheap already!
Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse.
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY
http://www.amazon.de/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.fr/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.it/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.es/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.nl/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.in/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.ca/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY/
http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00QZ7PVWY?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Also The Stolen Tower will be on a US and UK countdown event shortly.
Please do look out for that.
Also I have extended the sale on the paperbacks and Smashwords copies.
Tales of Erana – Volume One – Code 8FS57SZR on Create Space for 25% off. https://www.createspace.com/5306321
Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles – Code 483GN24U for $1.50 off at Create Space. https://www.createspace.com/4097384
And at Smashwords the voucher code is QD59M to get the e-book for only 99c until 28th Jan.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/290716
The Shining Citadel – Code 6YWSSRMU for $2.50 at
https://www.createspace.com/4122746
And at Smashwords Code HE29U to get the e-book for only 99c until 28th Jan.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/352783
Tales of Erana: Myths and Legends is also only 99c on Smashwords until the end 28th Jan. Coupon code CC64W at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/431160
If you do download these, please be kind enough to leave a review, or comment on the blog.
