Kay Causer's Blog

Update Time

Good title, right?

I know it's been forever because I'm very bad at updating mostly because I don't think I'm really that interesting and it's hard to write down what's been going on with me because, hey, I already know. But there are a few things to update on so here goes...

Ash World Ok, firstly this is the zombie story I started on Wattpad last year for a bit of fun. I wrote a couple of chapters but lost track of it until late December when a lovely reader left a comment and reminded me of it. Since then I've been trying to update as much as possible (at least once a week) and I would love if you could check it out. I'll admit it's very first drafty but it's also a lot of zombie killing fun and getting Rae to choose between Eli and Logan while also worrying about her little sister is confusing as hell (in a good way).

If you want to check it out here is a link to Chapter 1 and don't forget to leave comments. Feedback is a writer's lifeblood remember.

Ash World - Chapter One


Unbroken This is the other thing I've been working on.
I actually wrote it many years ago but only recently decided to dust it off and publish it for all the world to see. It's a very personal story to me that includes a lot of my own feelings of loss, fear, confusion, pain and all the rest except I didn't have someone lovely like James to help soften the blow.

I've decided to publish Unbroken as both an ebook and paperback release which is what has taken so damn long. Formatting the ebook was simples but the paperback has almost killed me this past week. I have literally almost cried on numerous occassions. However, as of this morning, it all seems to be good and I just need to complete the contents page because the page numbers are all wrong. The cover is pretty much done so we're almost good to go and then I can reveal more about it. Then the horror of promo which I am epically bad at because of social awkwardness begins. Yay?

Honestly, why is life never easy when everbody else makes it look like it is?

Books in 2015

2014 was a hard year for me with a lot of upheaval and changes so here's hoping 2015 will be much steadier and a lot happier. Saying that, I did still get to go to Disneyland Paris so it wasn't all bad.

With everything going on I've been struggling a bit to get the 3rd Shadow Weavers book done  (I'm so close to the end. I can feel it!) and I haven't read anything since October! A completely seperate non-Shadow-Weavers, non-fantasy book is in its final stages though. Once formatted and with a lovely cover it will be ready to promo. Here's hoping I've learnt a few things from the first two. I'm also thinking of making Shadow Weavers POD so I can hold physical copies and get all excited about them.

Before any of that though, I really need to read some more. My list of desired books is growing ever longer and, even though I'll surely change my mind on a few as we go, here is my long list as it stands right now.

Mastiff - Tamora Pierce (Beka Cooper #3)
Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch
Song of the Nile - Stephanie Dray (Cleopatra's Daughter #2)
The Keeping Place - Isobelle Carmody (Obernewtyn Chronicles #4)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories - Rae Carson
Bramblestar's Storm - Erin Hunter
A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J.Maas
4th Throne of Glass book - Sarah J.Maas
Spirit of the Wolves - Dorothy Hearst (Wolf Chronicles #3)
Let's not get into all the classics I really should get round to reading.
Any recommendations are welcome.

Here's to a happy and successful 2015!

Kindle Unlimited

Shadow Weavers Book 1: Hummingbird and Book 2: Nightingale are both now available to download for free through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.

If you don't know what KU is then please check it out. It works like an online library service where, for a monthly fee of about £7.99 last time I checked, you can download as many free eligible books as you want. Well, you can have 10 at a time but as soon as one's returned you can replace it. It seems like a great program for readers wanting to try new stuff so please check it out and download the Shadow Weavers books!

Shadow Weavers: Hummingbird
Shadow Weavers: Nightingale

Buddy Reads are Great

Hello, hello. How are you?
I have some good news. The lovely mods over at the Goodreads group 'YA Buddy Readers' Corner' are doing a buddy read of Hummingbird. They will be discussing it on Oct 6th so why not join up and chat about it with them?

Click here for the group itself - https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/73843-ya-buddy-readers-corner
Or here for the individual thread about Hummingbird - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2018776-shadow-weavers-hummingbird-shadow-weavers-1-by-kay-causer---startin

For anyone asking 'What on Earth is a buddy read?" well, I'll tell you. A buddy read is simply where you and a buddy read the same book at the same time and make a certain time to discuss it. When I think about it I did a lot of buddy reads when I was a kid with the Redwall books since my friends and I would read the same one at the same time. Mattimeo was the first. Ah, good times, good times.

x

Interview

I have an interview, fresh up today, by Sallie Lundy-Frommer on her website. Please click the link to check it out.

http://yesterdaydaugher.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/meet-kay-causer-author-of-humming-bird.html

Sallie herself is also an author of 'Yesterday's Daughter', a vampire romance novel that you should go and check out too. (After you read the interview of course ;-) )

Hurry Hurry!!!

Shadow Weavers Book 1: Hummingbird is FREE TO DOWNLOAD from Amazon RIGHT NOW!
(I'm abusing caps lock, I know)

Hurry on over to this link - Hello there, I'm a link - to get your free copy right now, but be quick becaue the offer ends tonight.

Did I mention it was free?

FREE BOOK ONAUGUST 2ND!

Need a summer read?

My book 'Shadow Weavers, #1: Hummingbird' will be completely free to download from Amazon on August 2nd!

Available here - http://www.amazon.com/Hummingbird-Sha...

Hummingbird is YA paranormal and urban fantasy story about a teenage girl, Naomi, who discovers that not only does she have special powers but she's the first to do so in 50 years. The 'Shadows' - dark spirits determined to cause chaos - have broken through into our world again and only Naomi, with the help of her shadow guide, the handsome and playful Jesse, can stop them.

Blog reviews:
"A different spin on the paranormal plane... this is the beginning to a wonderful series" - Eskimoprincess.blogspot.co.uk

"Naomi is so realistically played... I look forward to the other books in the series!"
readingshy.blogspot.ca

"...a new and unique story..."
escapeinsidethepages.wordpress.com

Feel free to ask any questions here if you want to know more, I'd be more than happy to answer, and I hope you guys can give it a chance.

Thanks, Kay.

Life is Hard (the toothache edition)

Especially when you have a toothache. I've never had one before and I don't recommend it. Because of the distraction of throbbing pain, I haven't written as much this week as I would have liked to. Still, it's summer now and the weather is nice so I'm willing to not be too hard on myself. Shadow Weavers 3 is coming together nicely anyway and I'm nearing the end.

Aside from deaing with toothache, I have also set up a Kay Causer page on facebook - Kay Causer, the Facebook page.
In the interests of complete honesty, I don't like Facebook much and find it slightly confusing and difficult to use (please don't judge my incompetence) but I'll try and update it. Please like and add me as a friend etc etc.

In two weeks I will be gallavanting off on my summer holidays so I'm rushing and trying to get things sorted before  then. As Shadow Weavers approaches its conclusion (for now) I'm wondering what to write next. However, before Shadow Weavers 3 I will have something a little different out. Unbroken was written many years ago and holds a special place in my heart (my first full length novel) so I'm re-editing it now and hope to get it up soon. I'll make a new post soon with all the relevant details so stay tuned.

(Do I use brackets too much?)

How to get your EIN

I've been thinking about doing a post on this for a while because I definately had to look this stuff up and found some very helpful (and some quite outdated) posts about EINs. There were also some very unclear and unhelpful ones so I thought I would try to explain this in the simplest terms possible.

What is an EIN?
If you're publishing to Amazon Kindle etc, you will be required to pay a 30% witholding tax on all your royalties. That means for every $100 you make, you lose $30. Most people are unhappy with giving so much to a foreign country but have no fear, you may be one of the lucky ones.

STEP 1: Calling America

If you're anything like me then you probably break out in a cold sweat regarding anything that involves technical, grown-up things like taxes, but have no fear because if I can do this then so can you. In order to get your EIN in the most quick and painfree manner you will have to call the IRS on  +1 267 941 1099 
Note: this is not a toll free number
Personally, because I didn't want to pay for a transatlantic phonecall, I used Skype. I was on the phone for roughly 15 minutes and it only cost me 24 pence. God bless the internet.
Another suggestion is to call at around 11am, UK time, which makes it about 6am, US time, and their offices will have just opened. This gives you a better chance of getting through without being put on hold. I got through in about 10 seconds which was nowhere near enough time to sort out how nauseous I felt. I really don't like talking to people on the phone.

STEP 2: Who are you and what do you want?
Once you are talking to a lovely American with a lovely American accent, they will ask you what you are calling about and you should tell them you are applying for an EIN for a foreign entitiy. If they ask about your company then say you are a sole proprieter and the business owner (which you are) and that should satisfy them. 

STEP 3: Which may or may not happen.
Some say they will ask you about an SS-4 form and you should hang up and try again if this happens. Luckily for me they skipped straight to step 4.

STEP 4: Repeat everything roughly 1 million times.
This is the tedious part. They will ask your name, company name (basically the same thing unless you use a pen name like I do), where you're from, your address etc. Basically all the standard info that is hard to hear over the phone so you will have to repeat it over and over. Maybe my accent made this especially hard but I tried to use my posh phone voice, I swear.

STEP 5: Final details.
At some point, once they have all your details, they will ask you if this is about compliance from witholding tax and you will say yes. Then tell them it is for selling e-books online. They probably get these calls quite frequently nowadays.

STEP 6: Party time!
Once all of this is sorted they will give you your EIN over the phone. Read it back to them to double-check and then make sure it is written down in at least 5 safe places. Once you hang up you can use your EIN straight away for as many e-books as you want. All you have to do iS fill in the section that says EIN or TITN on the W8-BEN form which is now handily attached online to Smashwords and Amazon Kindle when you first try to publish an e-book. 

BONUS STEP 7: Snailmail
About a week after you hang up on America, feeling very pleased with yourself for being such a grown-up, you will recieve confirmation of your EIN in the post. Hopefully this will have the right house number on it and come straight to your door rather than being delivered to you via your elderly neighbourswho are very confused because they're fairly certain they've never had any dealings with the IRS before.

Hummingbird (Shadow Weavers #1) is available here and here
Nightingale (Shadow Weavers #2) is available here and here

Ash World

Ah, the World Cup has started. That's me occupied for the next month. I'm going to try not to tweet about it too much but no promises.

Nightingale went up for sale here and here yesterday.  You may have spotted a few cover reveals here and there. If you want to check the cover out for yourself then click one of the links or use the updated Shadow Weavers  tab

That's enough promo though. What I'm curious about are the people from Germany, Russia and the Ukraine who are lurking this blog. Hi, guys! Send me a message, don't be shy. My favourite thing about the internet is being able to connect with people from all different countries and cultures. That and watching Youtube videos, of course.

I've also started writing a story on Wattpad if you want to check it out. It's called 'Ash World' and is a zombie fic about a girl called Rae. She lives ten years from now, in a world devastated by a virus that turns people into zombies. Luckily, there's a cure, but it only works within a certain time frame. And her sister has just been bitten. Oh, did I mention they're run out of the antidote?
There's also a love interest (or two) and I'm sure there'll be a lot more fun things coming up once I really get going. I love writing serialised fics. I want people to be able to read as soon as possible. I guess I'm just impatient., like that.

Ash World is just for fun right now which means it's completely free. Check it out at this link - I'm a link. Please click me!

Right, I'm off to watch the end of Brazil vs Croatia.
xxx