Claire Merchant's Blog, page 6

Happy 2018!!

Hello, lovelies!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and happy holidays, and I wish you all a wonderful New Year!

I’m very much looking forward to what’s to come in 2018. I have a few projects in the works, and am planning to release two new books in the next few months – Nicole Nero’s story, ‘Heart Strings’, and Amelia Saber’s story, ‘Daughter Departed’. I’ll have more information in the coming weeks about the two of them. But just a heads up – they both follow on from a couple of my other stories, so in the meantime, you can catch up if you haven’t already! Here’s my recommended reading list:

Heart Strings: South Coast Son [2014]

Daughter Departed: South Coast Son [2014], Midnight Mistry [2015], Mistry at Dawn [2016], Heart Strings [TBA]

Also, make sure you’re following me on Instagram (@sailorclaire) and Facebook (facebook.com/officialclairemerchant) for more regular updates on books and stuff.

In case you missed it, below are my 12 books featured on my Instagram Christmas countdown.

Best wishes,

Claire xx

 

The Authors Show!

Hello, lovelies!

Just a quick note to let you know that I was interviewed by Linda from The Authors Show and my interview is available to listen to now at www.theauthorsshow.com. It will run for a total of 24hrs, so you’ll have until midnight US Eastern Standard Time to check it out.

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‘Heart Strings’ and other things…

Hello, lovelies!

It’s been a minute since I’ve written a blog – sorry! I’ve been busy writing, and planning, and rewriting, and editing a couple of stories, new and old.

Recently, I finished rewriting a story called ‘Heart Strings’ that I wrote back in 2009. I originally started to edit it back in April/May, but then realised that it needed a little more work than I thought. Plus, I thought the story was a little slow, and my main character wasn’t that likeable (I mean, if I didn’t like her, then no-one else would too!). So, anyway, I rewrote it, and it grew from 73,000 words to 105,000 words. I am way more satisfied with it now, so I hope to polish it off over the next few months and maybe release it next year sometime.

Once ‘Heart Strings’ was happy, I began editing ‘Daughter Departed’, which sort of follows on from ‘Heart Strings’, and also links in with ‘South Coast Son’ and The Mistry Trilogy. If you’ve been playing along at home, you’ll know it’s Amelia Saber’s story, and she has appeared in all of the above. I love the Saber family, and I loved writing Amelia. So I’d really love to release this one too after ‘Heart Strings’, so keep an eye out for it next year!

After ‘Daughter Departed’, I have since been revisiting some of my works in progress. So I’m currently working on ‘Visionary’, which is Cassia’s story. My favourite thing about this story is that Cassia becomes friends with South Coast’s resident grim reaper, Sal Vincent. So Sal gets to shine a little more in this one.

Well, lovelies, before I write another novel here, I’ll bid you adieu until next time.

Much love and stuff,

Claire xx

“A pirate dead?”

Hello, lovelies!

I recorded a little excerpt from my novel, A Lady Born, A Pirate Bred, ‘Chapter Four: Sirena’s Secret’. Yes, I try to do accents. It’s all in good fun!

You can also find it below, and also here on my official Facebook page.

Love,

Claire xox

 

http://www.clairemerchant.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/a_pirate_dead_HD-1.mp4

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linger

Hello, lovelies!

Well, June has been busy so far! Here’s a little snapshot of what I’ve been up to…

As you would know, my new novel LINGER is available on Amazon as a paperback and a Kindle eBook, depending on your preference. It’s a love story, but not your typical love story. You can buy it from here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072JSRWQ6 or find links to purchase any of my other books from the ‘BOOKS’ tab above.

I have also recently finished writing my 27th novel, DANGEROUSLY CAPTIVATING, which is a sequel to another of my books called DANGEROUSLY BEAUTIFUL. This series follows Anabelle Montgomery, who is a bartender at ‘Crescent’, as she joins a team of attractive, justice-seeking, vigilante assassins. They were mentioned by Cole Frost in Forever Ruby (for those playing along at home):

“So, um, does anyone else live in this building or do you monopolise the whole thing?”

He blinked. “No, well, it’s mostly just mine. It is all mine, really, but one of the levels is dedicated to a sort of independent organisation that I started a few decades ago—if you listen closely you might hear them on the fourth floor—but other than that, the building remains my playground, if you will.”

“What does the organisation do?”

He smiled. “Bring about justice when the law fails.”

“How?”

“One day I’ll explain it to you.”

I nodded. “Are they human?”

“Yes,” he replied. “They are dangerously beautiful humans.”

I breathed a laugh. “Most beautiful people are dangerous.”

I have just started on the third in this series and hope that they’ll be a couple more to follow.

Other than that, I am working on rewriting an old story of mine called HEART STRINGS, which I’d love to pop up on Amazon in the future, along with one called ART IMITATING LIFE, which was the story that inspired South Coast Son.

So, that’s my June!

All the love,

C xox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… A Book By It’s Cover

Hello, lovelies!

One question I’ve been asked a lot over the years is whether I have much of a say in what the covers of my books look like. Obviously, for my self-published novels, I had complete control as I designed them myself, but when going through a publisher, the publishing process is slightly different. However, for me, the answer is the same.

I have, in fact, had a lot of say over the covers and, for the books I published with Pegasus Publishers, I worked in consultation with the graphics team to see my vision come to life. Today I thought I’d share with you the little sketches I sent them and how they compare to the finished product. As you can see, they did a fantastic job at taking my ideas and creating something great.

Love to all.

C xox

 

‘Foresight’ now available as a paperback

Hello, lovelies!

Surprise! You can now buy my story Foresight as a paperback novel on Amazon.

For those who are unfamiliar with the novel, here’s the blurb:

Bree Ingall solves cases for a living. She excels at her job, and together with her team, is one of the best detectives that Iris Cove Police Department has to offer. That is, until she wakes up one morning with no recollection of her own life.

As if that’s not bad enough, time no longer follows a straight line for her, and while Bree experiences blackouts that see her waking on different days, she returns to work and attends a missing person’s case with her partner, Dom. Using the foresight to her advantage, Bree discovers that the case becomes a homicide investigation, and is determined to find the girl before it’s too late.

Will she piece it together in time, or will her digging cost her more than just her mind?

 

To purchase your copy, click here.

C xox

Dreaming of Reality

Hello, lovelies!

My new story Dreaming of Reality will be available on the 4th of April 2017.

Here is the blurb to pique your interest…

Charlie Whitlock has had a successful life. The only problem is, she can’t remember it. After fleeing to South Coast, Charlie wakes from an 18-month coma to find she doesn’t remember anyone except her Doctor, Jackson Mistry.

While Jack aids Charlie on her road to recovery, Charlie begins to worry that, without her memories, she has nothing waiting for her in the outside world. That is until Jordan, her twin sister, arrives and triggers fragments of her old life to resurface. Charlie is overwhelmed by what she remembers, and with Jack’s increasing absence, the prospect of returning to her former life becomes more daunting by the day.

As Charlie learns to stand on her own two feet again, she must face up to her old life in order for her to move on with her new one, but will she?

Emotional, mysterious, and dramatic, Dreaming of Reality explores the importance of identity, and the healing power of love.

 

To pre-order from Amazon, click here.

C xox

March forth!

Hello, lovelies!

Woh, time is absolutely flying! You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve been quite busy lately, so I have a little bit to catch you up on. Since I last checked in, I have been reading, planning, and writing, I have had a birthday, and then I got unwell (I’m sure the two aren’t related). I’m still on the mend, but luckily have been able to get some great ideas on the page whilst sitting in a room smelling of eucalyptus.

Last night I finished writing Amelia Saber’s story, ‘Daughter Departed’, which is the 26th novel I’ve written (yikes, they add up). You may remember Millie as Sam Saber’s sister from ‘South Coast Son’, and she also popped up in the two ‘Mistry Trilogy’ sequels. ‘Daughter Departed’ was an idea that I started back in 2014, and follows Amelia as she leaves South Coast for England to make a new life for herself there. I really enjoyed being back in the Saber family, and it was fun to write Amelia as more of a grown up. I hope to share it with people at some point, but as it follows on from a few stories, I will need to see about getting those out first!

Speaking of which, I am still working on getting three of my other stories up on Amazon Kindle this year, and the first one should be along soon (hopefully in April). I had been aiming to have it up for my birthday in March, but my ideas were flowing, so I had to put it on hold.

In other news (and speaking of South Coast Son), February marked the third anniversary of its release. So, happy anniversary to Sammy!

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for updates on my new eBook. I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s a bit of a Mistry, but not like you’re thinking.

C xox

Happy 2017!

Hello, lovelies!

Happy 2017 to all! I hope everyone is off to a wonderful start to the year!

After a busy 2016, I am looking forward to focusing more on writing this year. I have a few more story ideas in the pipeline, and am working on putting some eBooks up on Amazon Kindle at some point, so stay tuned!

In other news, last week Pegasus Publishers posted a blog on my “author life”, you can find the link here.

Also, January marked the first anniversary of Mistry at Dawn, and the second anniversary of Forever Ruby. Happy anniversary, Taylor and Ruby!

Well, that’s all for now. But, don’t forget to follow my Instagram @sailorclaire for weekly quotes from Finding Hope. Hooray!

C xox