Isis Sousa's Blog: Tragic Books' news, page 2

Freebies & Giveaways, New Readers, I am looking forward to connect with you!

The Night of Elisa and Eleanor's Gift are now available for free at Instafreebie.

I am looking forward to connect with new readers as well as getting honest reviews, from those who have enjoyed the stories and have the time.

Reviews are not mandatory in any way – feel free to simply claim your book and have fun, though if you do leave a review, I’d be deeply grateful :-)

Claim The Night of Elisa HERE: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/964NS
Claim Eleanor’s Gift HERE: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/WQJeI

And I am also running a GoodReads Giveaway , where 3 lucky winners will get a beautifully illustrated paperback duo of The Night of Elisa + As Cold As Thorns

Good luck and thanks for participating! :-D

Books that I love: Check out these special editions of Frankenstein and Books of Blood (video)

This June/July, I travelled to Sao Paulo, Brazil to spend some time with my parents, brother and extended family. Besides the amazing moments I got, I received some beautiful and great books as gifts. I’d like to share with you two classics (one old, one modern) of Dark Fiction.

I’ve been in love with their layout and paper and you can have a glimpse here on this short video.

Click on the link to watch the video:
http://tragicbooks.com/2017/08/28/spe...

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley was even more special, due to the extra illustrations and the 4 bonus short stories. However, my favourite cover is that of Books of Blood, by Clive Barker. It’s utterly beautiful.

PS: Yes, they are in Portuguese, my native language :-)

So, what do you think about special editions and hardcovers? Or do you prefer paperback? Would you have a book in multiple formats? Share your opinion :-)

So, how was your Summer? Mine was like this…

First of all, hope all of you have had a nice time this Summer :-) I am slowly catching up here at GR and want to thank all of you for the support – those who are friends, those who read my books or follow here!

I have been away for a while. I took some time off from GR/writing and any book publishing activity, that’s because a few months ago, both my brother and my father were sick and I put everything aside to work and gather some money to fly to the other side of the globe and be there for my family.

I have been there for over a month and my family is better now – thanks goodness!!! I am very grateful for the time we had together and I also had joyful moments with extended family and some friends. Also, I got some book gifts – beautiful editions, which I will share with you on an upcoming post. (Stay tuned! There will be pics too!)

Now I am back, catching up with work and social media, and nonetheless, getting back to writing and publishing.
Speaking of which, I am working on a photo/art book about Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France, to publish this Autumn/Winter and will resume writing/editing/beta reading of As Cold As Thorns II – (Final Part). More info about those coming soon!

So, tell me, what did you guys do the past months? Did you spend time home? Did you have free days? Did you visit people or traveled? I want to hear it! :-)

PS: I will also publish new author interviews/spotlights! Stay tuned for that too!

A few months break as author and hanging on GoodReads

Hey guys, it has been a while since I posted anything here. Lately things became very busy, but overall, I am on a life period where I need to prioritize work and family (parents / brother) – and writing / being an indie author hasn’t helped with neither.

My parents and brother are going through a tough time, including health problems and I need to save time and money to see them (we live half the globe apart!) and support them in any way I can.

This means I am putting aside the writing/editing of As Cold As Thorns Part II and other book projects as well as my time here on GoodReads for some months. Family first, always – although I wish I was rich enough to be able to continue with these projects and be there for my family. :P

C’est la vie, sometimes it is a big filthy bitch but I hope it will treat you well while I’m gone.

All the best, guys :-)

Interview and Spotlight with Punk indie author Andy Carrington

I came across Andy Carrington’s work here at GoodReads. I had interviewed Harry Whitewolf and he liked and shared the post. After that we became acquaintances. Andy’s bio and his books got me all curious. I have always been a non-conformist, so the ideas behind his book titles and covers were something I assimilated with. I think we live in a world where the systems have failed and Andy, like Mr. Wolf and R. Dreyfus are some of the few who are representing this indignation through works of written art.

I haven’t yet read Andy’s books - yet, but have added them to my to-read list. However, some good friends of mine at GR, have read and left excellent reviews of his material. Without further ado, you can read here an interview we did these past days.

1- When did you start identifying yourself with the punk lifestyle and ideas?
Quite late. I grew up on Public Enemy / Wu-Tang and pretty much lived off Hip-Hop’s Golden Era (late ‘80s-early ‘90s) through all of my teens. I didn’t really start listening to The Clash / Upstarts till the early ‘00s. There wasn't really any music scene around our end and we relied mostly on mixtapes / CDs and word-of-mouth. It wasn’t till after moving to Bradford I started knocking about down the 1 in 12 Club, getting out to gigs and becoming more involved in the movement. The writing pretty much coincided with that.

I just love Punk’s angst. It’s urgency. It can be whatever the fuck it wants and it doesn’t care whether you like it or not. Some of my closest mates help out voluntarily, work the bars, play in bands, run local charity events; and it’s this self-sufficiency and collectiveness that I respect most / identify with.

2- When did you start writing your books?
2008 / 2009.

3- We can see you use the written art as form of protest. How easy/difficult is it to bring your message to the people compared to other forms of art, such as visual, music or performance?
Not easy.
If I could sing or dance, I wouldn’t be doing this.

4- Do you do/have done live reading? How was/is the experience for you? What can people expect from you on such events?
First reading was on a Halifax radio Punk show; then @ the 1 in 12 in Bradford for an anti-fascist all-dayer. I’ve done a few. The one in Dublin warming up for Hooligan / Upstarts was probably the best.
Sometimes they cheer, sometimes they heckle, sometimes they sit in stone silence. It all depends.

What can people expect? Aggressive outbursts, mumbling fuck-ups and nothing going to plan.

5- How’s your writing process? Do you have any rituals?
I find smoking weed and listening to Public Enemy alleviates stress. Then the writing just happens when it happens…

6- What keeps you inspired?
See above.

7- What are your biggest challenges as a niche indie author?
Being heard. Also jumping from shitty job to shitty job, just trying to eat / pay the rent and get by on a week-to-week basis is a challenge in itself.

8- Do you have any favourite books or authors?
Harrison / Bukowski / Orwell / Larkin / the Fantes / Ian McMillan / M.J. Black / Larkin / Whitewolf / Dreyfus / Andy T / Laura Taylor.

I take more from music than I do reading, to be honest.

9- Which is your best book, according to yourself and why?
Apathy Will Kill Us All, probably. I dunno.

10- What can new readers expect from your books, in general?
Bad language / scepticism / direct insults / lefty bias.

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SPOTLIGHT
Here you see a couple of Andy's books - and their cool covers!
Click on them to visit the book's page here at GoodReads.






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Where to find Andy’s work:

Website: www.andycarrington.co.uk
Amazon UK | GoodReads

The Night of Elisa – Character artworks and concept sketches that did not make it to the trade book

When I first started the creative process for The Night of Elisa, my idea was to have a fully painted portrait for each character in the book as well as paintings of scenes, environments and objects. I actually started some of these illustrations and had to put the dream on stand-by for someday in the future.

Leonhard

At the time – as it is now, I had no funding to take hours and hours to make a fully illustrated/graphical edition of the work. To embark in such endeavour, I would need to stop client work, and doing that would mean I would starve to death and sleep under the bridge before I completed the project and my business as illustrator would come to an end. Such a dreadful reality!

Berenice

There was yet another issue that weighted on me never finishing the original project, and that was the print costs. A fully graphical book the way I wanted would need to be printed in color and due to the length of the story, the final price would be heavy for the readers.

Elisa

Depending on crowdfunding platforms was not an option. I see them as me, the creative mind, being at the mercy of people. In other words: If they backed my project I would make it, if not, I would be frustrated and back to square 1. No! I am not that kind of person. If I want to do something, I just do it, regardless of people’s approval, as long as I have the means to do it.

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Please, continue reading at my website, where you can also see the rest of the concepts :)
https://tragicbooks.com/2017/01/30/th...

Do you like them? Feel free to share your thoughts!

Interview & Spotlight with indie author Harry Whitewolf

I came across Harry Whitewolf's work here at Goodreads. I noticed several friends adding his work to their to-read lists and/or reading it and of course, it got me curious. So I went to check it for myself and read his Poetry book New Beat Newbie - which i totally recommend, even for those who do not like Poetry, like me! (You can read my review HERE https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .) Since then I have admired his work :) I invite you to learn more about Harry's great mind, through the interview we did for my blog:

1 - When did you start writing? And why did you pick up Poetry/Travel and Children's Fiction?
I’ve always written things. Even as a small child I was coming up with stories and poems, and as a young adult, I was writing a lot of poetry and often performing it. So poetry has always been something that’s just within me. The travel books weren’t something I particularly planned. I just started writing about my Argentina trip and before I knew it, I discovered I had the makings of a book (Route Number 11), which then paved the way for its sister book The Road To Purification; set in Egypt.

Although I published my kids’ books after those travel books, I had actually written the drafts for them a few years before. I haven’t promoted my humorous children’s books (which I write under the pen name of Mr. Wolf) as much as my other work, as I see it as a sort of sideline. Writing kids’ books is most definitely just good fun though. I enjoy the process so much more than writing my other stuff, as my imagination can just run riot and I feel like I’m in a cosy bubble.

2 - You have published several books, which one do you consider your best and why?
I consider The Road To Purification: Hustlers, Hassles & Hash to be my best. I had constructed a new and unique way of writing with Route Number 11, so I was then able to improve and refine that with its successor. I have minor quibbles about my other books, but I feel Road To Purification is exactly how it needs to be. It was also the hardest book to write, ‘cos it wasn’t easy reliving my mad fucked up Egyptian trip!

And I think Two Beat Newbie is my best poetry book. I feel like I reached my apex with my poetry in that one, and I’m not sure I can do any better. That’s why (seeing as I always attempt to improve my writing with each project) I decided to take a sideways step with its successor Rhyme and Rebellion and make a few minor changes to the way I wrote.

3 - How's your writing process, from drafting to finished books?
I write in a mad flurry of blurriness where I can’t get the words down quick enough. Then I edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite etc. for as many drafts as it takes. I’ll have read my books dozens of times before they take shape as the finished articles.

4 - What is your biggest challenge as indie author?
I guess it’s the same as any other indie authors: trying to get noticed! And I guess ‘cos I write non-genre-friendly stuff, it’s a little more difficult too. (i.e – My travel books read more like beat-ish fiction and are mostly enjoyed by people who don’t read travel and my poetry books are enjoyed by people who mostly don’t read poetry!)

5 - And your biggest dream?
The big dream for myself is to earn a modest living solely from writing books. But the biggest dream of all is for world peace. Obviously. :)

6 - Which genres do you like most as a reader?
Yeahhh… see, I’m not really a genre person. Like, I don’t read much fantasy but I love Lord of the Rings, and I don’t read much sci-fi but love 2001 and Vurt. I like Beat stuff, I like Irvine Welsh, Anthony Burgess, William Blake, Mervyn Peake, Sue Townsend, Douglas Adams, George Orwell, Richard Bach, Douglas Coupland… The list goes on, of course. I like specific writers and specific books more than any genre.

7 - How do you get inspired?
By living!

Smoking a fatty boom blatty doesn’t hurt either.

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CHECK OUT HIS BOOKS!
Rhyme and Rebellion Awards: 50 best indie books of 2016, readfree.ly

Where to find Harry's work:

Read Two Beat Newbie for free

Read Mr. Wolf’s The Top Secret Cheese for free

Harry’s books on Amazon.com

Harry’s books on Amazon.co.uk

Website: www.harrywhitewolf.com

Mr. Wolf’s website: booksforchildren.wixsite.com/mrwolf

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And a small news to I wanted to share: I have started a new photo-portfolio in form of a blog. I had one before under the name "YggdrasilFoto.no" and now I reshaped it into Sousa & Neshaug Photography and invite you to take a look :) There's a lot of cool pictures coming!

https://sousaneshaug.com/

Adam Nevill - Under A Watchful Eye Launch Event TODAY

Attention Horror fans! 12th January multi-awarded author Adam Nevill is launching his new book “Under a Watchful Eye”. There’s a launch event coordinated by Booklover Catlady Publicity with lots of nice prizes!

The grand prize is:

If you buy/pre-order Under A Watchful Eye and participate on the launch event HERE, you will have your name used as character on Nevill’s next novel + get a copy of all the books he has published up to date!

There will be book giveaways by other Dark Fiction and Horror writers as well, so stay tuned and let the darkness come in! Participate HERE.

Synopsis

Under a Watchful Eye by Adam Nevill is a supernatural thriller from the award-winning writer of The Ritual and Last Days.

Seb Logan is being watched. He just doesn't know by whom.

When the sudden appearance of a dark figure shatters his idyllic coastal life, he soon realizes that the murky past he thought he'd left behind has far from forgotten him. What's more unsettling is the strange atmosphere that engulfs him at every sighting, plunging his mind into a terrifying paranoia.

To be a victim without knowing the tormentor. To be despised without knowing the offence caused. To be seen by what nobody else can see. These are the thoughts which plague his every waking moment.

Imprisoned by despair, Seb fears his stalker is not working alone, but rather is involved in a wider conspiracy that threatens everything he has worked for. For there are doors in this world that open into unknown places. Places used by the worst kind of people to achieve their own ends. And once his investigation leads him to stray across the line and into mortal danger, he risks becoming another fatality in a long line of victims . . .

BUY IT ON AMAZON US | BUY IT ON AMAZON UK

Author Bio

Adam L.G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is the author of the horror novels: ‘Banquet for the Damned’, ‘Apartment 16’, ‘The Ritual’, ‘Last Days’, ‘House of Small Shadows’, ‘No One Gets Out Alive’, ‘Lost Girl’, and ‘Under a Watchful Eye’. His first short story collection, ‘Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors’, is published on Halloween, 2016.

His novels, ‘The Ritual’, ‘Last Days’ and ‘No One Gets Out Alive’ were the winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. ‘The Ritual’ and ‘Last Days’ were also awarded Best in Category: Horror, by R.U.S.A. Six of his novels are currently in development for film and television.

Adam also offers two free books to readers of horror: ‘Cries from the Crypt’, downloadable from his website, and ‘Before You Sleep’ available from major online retailers.

Adam lives in Devon, England.

Visit his website: www.adamlgnevill.com

15 Oscar Wilde quotes + 5 art nudes from “The Picture of Dorian Gray in Quotes and Nudes”

A couple of months ago, I published a coffee-table book/art book edited by Clare Diston, Celine Frohn and myself :) That book is “The Picture of Dorian Gray in Quotes and Nudes” – with 60+ quotes from Oscar Wilde’s original work + 20 nude painting studies made by me. We got a license from CMG Worldwide for limited copies: only 300! There will be no reprint or second edition!

I share with you a selection of 15 OSCAR WILDE quotes from our book + 5 art nude studies. Enjoy!
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There is only one thing in this world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. ~ Lord Henry

¤ But beauty, real beauty, ends where intellectual expression begins. ~ Lord Henry


¤ Every portrait that is painted with feeling, is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter, it is rather the painter who, on the colored canvas, reveals himself. ~ Basil Hallward



¤ Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love’s tragedies. ~ Lord Henry


¤ I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters and, and my enemies for their good intellects. ~ Lord Henry


¤ I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in this world. ~ Lord Henry


¤ Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. ~ Lord Henry



¤ He was trying to gather up the scarlet threads of his life, to weave them into a pattern; to find his way through the sanguine labyrinth of passion through which he was wondering. ~ Narrator


¤ We live in an age that reads too much to be wise, and that thinks too much to be beautiful. ~ Lord Henry


¤ He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul. ~ Narrator


¤ Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face. It cannot be concealed. ~ Basil Hallward



¤ Nobody ever commits a crime without doing something stupid. ~ Alan Campbell


¤ To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, wake up early and be respectable. ~ Lord Henry


¤ I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure. ~ Dorian Gray

¤ I wish I could love, but I seem to have lost the passion and forgot the desire. ~ Dorian Gray

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You can BUY "The Picture of Dorian Gray in Quotes and Nudes" exclusively at TragicBooks.com website.
Click HERE to see the official page for this project.

Self-publishing advice: My Experience with CreateSpace, KDP, Blurb, LULU, Smashwords, Peecho

I am an indie author who writes on her free time and benefits of using FREE self-publishing services. If it wasn’t for these platforms, I probably would not be publishing books right now, since I wouldn’t be able to afford paid services and my work would most likely not interest bigger presses.

In my two years self-publishing journey I have tested both print and e-book publishing platforms and now I’d like to share some of my insights with you.

This a looong article, but hope it will be helpful to you: https://tragicbooks.com/2017/01/02/my...

...And Happy New Year! :D