Laura Morgan's Blog, page 10

And finally..... Smashwords!

Well, I have finally gotten around to publishing Embracing the Darkness and A Slave to the Darkness on Smashwords, phew! It took me until the end of June to get out of my KDP select agreement to sell Embracing the Darkness via only Amazon which was great to be able to have discounted and free deals but i'm looking forward to getting the books out on the Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Sony and Kobo.
Smashwords are also running a special offer until the end of July and so until then you can not only get your hands on a free copy of Embracing the Darkness, you can also get a half-price copy of A Slave to the Darkness on whatever platform you desire!
I had the fortune to meet the CEO of Smashwords, Mark Coker at a lecture he held at Kingston University in April right before the London Book Fair and not only was his lecture informative and interesting, but he was a genuinely nice guy and I came away with a fantastic understanding of the ebook market.
So, let's see if the Smashwords readers' like my Black Rose series!

Here's the link to my page:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...

My Black Rose Series

I'm so exited to have written this series, and truly feel as though I have been awakened by letting my heart pour out it's creative offerings at long last. There will be 5 books in total, which I will be releasing as soon as I can get the editing processes complete and proofread :-)

In case any of you still haven't bought a copy, here are the links (watch out, shameless plug coming)

Embracing the Darkness, Book1:
USA http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HGVES2M
UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0...

A Slave to the Darkness, Book2:
USA http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KOTXCC0
UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0...

Real life getting in the way of art!

Hi everyone,
Thanks to all the new viewers for stopping by, feel free to post comments if you like, it'd be great to meet people from all over the world with a love of all things dark, gothic, romantic and if you're anything like me - just downright strange!
I've been having a bit of a struggle with everyday life at the minute, narrow-minded and childish people being the main reason for it. I fail to understand the human brain, especially women, sometimes. Why is it that when someone is happy and is quite literally 'living the dream' do other people feel the need to belittle them for their own benefit? I get it, they aren't happy with their own existence and so are envious of those who are doing well for themselves or who are succeeding in an otherwise hard world, but seriously? Are we still in the school playground with the Queen Bee sat atop her throne while her minions all buzz around her and if you dare to be different you are shunned and treated like the worst person that Queen, and subsequently her minions, has ever known?
If this is real life, then it is getting in my way and can get stuffed! I am what I am, I am who I want to be and I will not change that for anyone. I am not a Queen bee, and my god do I never want to be!
Live your lives people, live them for you and for your families, live them for the ones you love and who love you back because when it all ends they are the ones you will hold in your heart, not the people who tried to get in your way!
Let's build a world where we all encourage one another to do our best, I certainly plan to go out kicking and screaming :-) xxx

New projects

I've just put the finishing touches to my new novel, a stand alone book completely separate to my Black Rose series and I'm super proud of it I must admit!
This one is a crime/romance novel (is that even a genre?) hard to label it but it is definitely not gothic or paranormal, the idea came to me just a few weeks ago and I've been slaving away ever since. In three weeks I have 82k words for the skeletal draft, a pretty good effort I'd say and tonight I put the finishing touches to the ending. I was toying with the happy/obvious/kill everyone (joke) finish but i think i got the right dynamic. This novel is not part of a series after all and so cliffhangers most certainly aren't allowed, but I have devised a nice way of ending it that leaves the future open to interpretation by the reader which I hope will be a nice way of doing it. Perhaps during the editing phase I will leave all doubt aside and write in a quick epilogue but I will just have to wait and see what feels right.
I can't wait to get my beta readers on the go soon, then I'll know for sure if it was well received or seen as too much of a cliffhanger i suppose. I look forward to bringing my readers a new tale, a new twist on my normal writing genre but with ever the same style and passion.

Inspiration from my heroes

So, I've been reading Stephen King's, 'on writing' and wow! I can thoroughly recommend it and I've only just started! One of the first things that has really stuck - he says about having writer friends and that we never ask each other where we get our idea's from, because we all know that we just don't know! I love it, so true because so many people ask that question and it's impossible to answer 

Text to speech programmes

So, in prep for the release of A Slave to the Darkness next week I have recently started using a text to speech programme called speak it! For the mac to check over my manuscript. It's a very robotic voice but I am highly impressed, you can only choose from male/female, British/American but that's all you really need in my opinion to hear your text the way it would be read in an audiobook. I love it and have found a few misplaced words or wrong formations such as the word form instead of from :-) these programmes come highly from me anyway x

Book 2 coming soon!!!

Well, the days is finally coming, A Slave to the Darkness will be released on 1st June 2014!!

I cannot wait to bring readers the second instalment of my series, hopefully adding to both the story and the characters' depths along with adding to the readers' interest in the Rose family and their journey. I wish I could interact better with the readers, especially those all across the world but that's impossible so i suppose for now all I can do is keep on writing and hope that whoever decides to give my books a try do so with an open mind and a vivid imagination.

Get in touch, review, write comments, whatever you want. Let's build a community of writers and readers that can pave the way for a new reading experience for everybody x

Freebie!!!

Well, everyone loves a freebie and to help boost sales before the second book in my Black Rose series is released, I have placed the ebook for Embracing the Darkness as free for the next couple of days on Amazon.
I love seeing the sales spikes, especially as they are being downloaded all over the world. I'd love to hear feedback, so as always please get in touch!

Busy, busy, busy!

Wow, all I can say is wow! I've had the most amazing year so far, Embracing the Darkness is out there in the world, people all over the place are buying it, resulting in a very decent amount of sales so far, considering I'm an unknown author just starting out.The reviews have started to come in, all of them fantastic which is humbling and wonderful. I especially love it when people who know me come up to me in the street or send me a Facebook message telling me how much they loved it. I think it's hard when someone you know writes a book, I bet people think they know what to expect from me or think it might be kind of obvious or something, because everyone seems quite shocked by my story and the dark places i have taken them to, and I love it!100% of the readers I have had feedback from cannot wait for book 2, which is the most important thing. I've written it and am doing the final edits now, it won't be long and then I will be ready for the next load of craziness! I love it xx

Createspace rocks!

It's amazing nowadays just what resources and facilities there are out the for Indie Authors, take Createspace - my newest venture. It is a print on demand service I am now using for the paperback copies of Embracing the Darkness.After just over a week of formatting, proof ordering, re-formatting and finally hitting 'go' my novel is finally on its way to being available to order via Createspace's own estore, Amazon and so many more! I have to wait 3-5 business days for the online retailers to have it live too, but I am over the moon with how fantastic the whole experience has been.One of the best parts of it all, and the moment I will cherish forever even if no-one ever buys a paperback of my novel, is the moment when I opened that box and held my first ever bound and professionally printed copy of my heart and soul in my hands. I think every writer dreams of their work making it into bookstores and although i am extremely happy and feel very accomplished to have the book available in the ebook market, there really is nothing better than the feel, smell and sense of pride I feel when holding my book in my hands. Fellow writers, i urge you - go for it! https://www.createspace.com/4759958