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Now that I have a grand total of three books published, I'm feeling generous. From today, I'll be giving away a free ebook with every newsletter sign up. So, if you're a fantasy reader looking for some fresh blood books, you might like to try one of mine.

The Raven – Launch AND Free for two days!

Yesterday afternoon I submitted the final copy of The Raven (The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic) to Amazon. After I pushed that 'publish' button, I did this ...

'The Borderlands: Journey' — Now available in paperback (read on to win a free copy)

I tend to spend most of my writing time ... writing. Crazy I know. So, jobs like getting around to making my novels available in print take a while to tick off the never-ending 'to do list'.

Finally, I have given myself that swift kick in the rear, and the first book of my 'Borderlands Trilogy' is now available for purchase on Amazon.

The paperback will look good on any bookshelf thanks to cover designer Taire Morrigan.

I always find it a struggle to say what the book is about in one statement, so here's what some of the reviews have said:

"The Borderlands is the first book in a mystery/fantasy series. It is a pleasant mixture of fantasy and magic combined with a coming of age story. The plot contains many twists and turns ending with what the reader would least expect." — Barbara Mojica 

"Borderlands: Journey is the beginning of a great coming of age story and it pretty much has it all, bold characters, wondrous settings and lots of fun twists." — azquim 

"How many of us growing up have had the feeling of not belonging? 'The Borderlands' is a wonderful tale about a girl who didn't fit in--with family or friends--until she discovered the place where she truly belonged." — Ronesa

If you'd like the opportunity to win a free paperback copy of The Borderlands: Journey, simply subscribe to my newsletter before the end of November. The draw is only open to my newsletter readers. The lucky winner will be drawn on the first of December and should receive the prize as a bonus Christmas present!
Good luck :)

Click here to read more about 'The Borderlands' series.

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.

'The Borderlands: Journey' is free this weekend only!

'The Borderlands: Journey' is free for this weekend only at Amazon. So if you're a lover of fantasy fiction now's the time to get your copy.

Enjoy it!

'The Viscount's Son' - free for one week!

It has been a month since the publication of my debut ebook, 'The Viscount's Son'.  To celebrate, I will be giving the novelette away for free for one week!

I have been very pleased with the sales performance of my little book, and this is 'free deal' marks the last week of my 'official' launch.  So, if you haven't had a chance to get a copy of 'The Viscount's Son', now is your chance.

What would I like in return?  Nothing, I just hope you enjoy it :)  Of course I'd love to hear about it in an email, comment here or even better, a review on Goodreads, Smashwords, Amazon, or your blog if you have one.  I'd like to thank all the readers and reviewers who have given me feedback, I very much appreciate the encouragement.

This will be the only free deal I'll be making for quite some time, so make sure you get it this week.  I hope you enjoy it!

'The Viscount's Son' is currently available for free at Smashwords.  It will also be free at Amazon and everywhere else soon - but remember, for one week only.

The Lighthouse - a dark read

Recently I read the short story The Lighthouse by Karen Heard.

Demon Lord, worth a read ... just!

 I have an interest in reading the work of some of those relatively unknown authors on Amazon kindle - you know, the ones whose books are very cheap or free.  I'm interested because I will probably be listed as one of them eventually (when I get around to finishing one of my novels).  So, recently I scanned the wide range of such ebooks and I came across Demon Lord by TC Southwell.

Demon Lord is the first book of a fantasy series that follows the quest of son of the underworld Bane to overthrow the overworld; and the healer, Mirra's attempts to do, well, ‘good’.

Essentially, Bane, the human Dark Lord of the evil God Arkonen, embarks on a campaign to destroy the wards that keep the dark god trapped in the underworld.  An elder Seeress foresaw the trouble and set in motion a plan to bring into the world a girl with powerful healing and goodness.  Bane kidnaps the girl, Mirra, who is then dragged along, often literally, with Bane and his army as they journey through the overworld.  Mirra tries to help Bane with his many excruciating headaches – a result of the evil rituals he must perform in order to maintain his magical power.  However Bane is cruel and abusive and beats Mirra relentlessly.

As a story it is interesting.  It has all the typical elements of the fantasy genre particularly a world that Southwell has clearly put a lot of thought into.  There is a dramatic and tense divide between evil and good, and it includes a range of supernatural entities including gods, seers, vampires, demon steeds, grims and weirds.  Some of the descriptions and imagery reads very well and puts a clear picture in a reader’s mind. 

While the story is a bit of a page-turner, there is much in this book that needs improving.  To me it read like more of a draft than a novel ready for publication.  On a very basic level there were many spelling errors and typos.  But, more importantly the characters needed much reworking.  Mirra was most unbelievable as a character. She is the protagonist but she is painted as so innocent and naïve that she seems, quite simply, stupid.  Bane is angry, aggressive and hostile, and we are not really convinced as to why he is so consistently in this state and why he needs to incessantly beat and torture Mirra.  The whole physical abuse was quite unsettling.  Like a victim of domestic violence Mirra suffered great abuse from Bane but kept going back for more – there was something very strange about it.  The other aspect that needed more attention, before publication, was the ending, it is one of the most unsatisfying endings I have come across.  I read the novel, with all its flaws, looking forward to see what would happen, but was sorely disappointed.

So should you bother?  Well one of the things Southwell did quite well was to develop a subtle promise of romance between Bane and Mirra (yup, believe it or not).  This was interesting and kept me turning the pages.  I haven’t as yet read the other books in this series so maybe it will get better and answer many things that remain unanswered in this first book.  I guess if you have nothing better to read, you enjoy fantasy fiction and you don’t want to pay for a book (this one is free) then go ahead and read it.  I can guarantee you will enjoy some elements, but you will, most likely, detest others.

Demon Lord by TC Southwell is available as an ebook for free as Amazon.

My Rating:

Dracula - read it on a dark, rainy weekend!

If you find yourself at home on a long, rainy weekend in winter.  Perhaps the fire is going, all your friends are out of town, and there's just you and the cat; I highly recommend losing yourself in the original 'Dracula' (insert - thunderclap).

Dracula is free at Amazon Kindle

If you're a reader of classics, you'll appreciate the dark symbolism and poetic language employed by Stoker.  If you're not, it's one classic you might enjoy with its sinister yet saucy tale.

The novel is a well known Gothic tale about the elusive Count Dracula.  It is written in an epistolary style, which means it is a series of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles and so on.  This style makes it interesting as we read about the story and characters from different perspectives, and we are left wondering which perspectives are reliable (insert- eerie music)!

We are introduced to the story by Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor who travels to Transylvania to meet with Dracula on business.  The narrative then switches back to England where Harker's fiance, Mina and her friend Lucy, pick up the tale.  They wonder what has happened to Jonathan and also muse upon the mysterious arrival of a ship, with one dead body on board.  The simultaneous sightings of a black dog have the town of Whitby in a flap.  A strange sequence of events plays out, first with Lucy, then with Mina!

The thing that keeps you turning the pages and wanting to know more is the lack of explicit reference.  Stoker manages to allude to sexuality and horror in symbolic ways, making it all the more tantalising and just  plain scary.  The word 'Vampire' is barely mentioned, and so we wonder, along with Harker who or what Dracula is!

Here is one of my favourite descriptions:

"... my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down, with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings.  At first I could not believe my eyes.  I thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow;  but I kept looking, and it could be no delusion.  I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall."

Isn't it thrilling?