Friday 31 July 2015

The Borderlands: Journey - Now on Wattpad

Today I started posting the first book of my Contemporary Fantasy series The Borderlands: Journey on Wattpad. Now you can read it for free!


I'll be posting a new chapter every week (Saturday mornings in Australia and NZ, Friday nights in US and Canada, and the middle of the night in UK). At the end of the Journey the second book will be ready for publication.

Click here to read more about The Borderlands.

The Borderlands: Journey is available for purchase at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.

Wednesday 29 July 2015

How do you get inspiration?

This is a purely self-indulgent post — an excuse really, for me to post some pics. The best way I seem to get inspiration for my writing is by going on a long walk with my dog Roxy.


Wednesday 1 July 2015

Review - 'A Whisper of Leaves'

A Whisper of Leaves by Ashley Capes is a beautiful, mysterious ghost story that will take you on an intriguing escape. I enjoyed it so much I'm giving away three (ebook) copies of this book to my mailing list subscribers - winners will be drawn end of July (more information below).



Riko is an ESL teacher on a working visa in Japan, and in a spot of bother. There's been some allegations that she's been 'inappropriate' with one of her students, and deportment out of the country threatens. When her good friend invites her to go hiking in the beautiful forests of Mt Fuji, Riko is glad to get her mind off work and her troubles. But in the forest, one should never leave the path. And when Riko inevitably does she finds a half buried treasure - an old mysterious journal.

Riko cannot keep her nose out of the journal. She translates parts of it into English; beautiful, and often dark, poetical passages add another level of mystery.
black clouds

brooding
was I ever a bird?
Just as she is drawn to the journal, Riko is drawn back to the forest, and suddenly her life becomes haunted by an unseen presence. Unknowingly, Riko's quest to find out more about the journal's origin puts her life in danger.

There are so many things I enjoyed about this book. The mystery builds and makes it quite a page turner by the end. I loved the supernatural element, told so convincingly, it almost seems like an actual Japanese folklore at times. Riko is immediately likable. And what I loved most is the imagery of Mt Fuji and those beautiful yet eerie forests. Ashley Capes is a poet and his power to evoke strong visual imagery is a wonderful element in this story.
The grass was cut close; the water's edge a brilliant deep blue. Across the lake, clear of snow, loomed Mt Fuji — a dark purple giant. Almost glorious, the way it hugged the sky lines, seemingly unconcerned with everything below it.  Even its reflection in the silken surface of the lake was proud.
Whether you're a lover of poetic language or not, the visual descriptions in this story will have you fully immersed in the landscape and the mystery.

Fans of paranormal mysteries and ghost stories will love this book. Readers will also enjoy the beautiful Japanese setting and 'mythology'. I fully recommend A Whisper of Leaves to anyone who likes a good story.

-----------------------------------------

If you'd like to enter a draw to win a free copy of A Whisper of Leaves all you have to do is sign up to my mailing list. I'm giving away three copies, and all my list subscribers can enter. The winners will be drawn at the end of July. Good luck!

Subscribe to my mailing list and you could win a free copy of 'A Whisper of Leaves'

* indicates required