Review:Looking for Alaska

"A Profoundly Beautiful Book!"

It is a very long time since I have read a book in one sitting and sobbed into the pages.

The first half of this book is written with a light, intelligent and humorous hand and then the juggernaut hits and you're left literally screaming at the book to take a different course, to admit with a smile that it's made a mistake - to turn the page and hope that you've just been pranked. But you haven't and the sinking, settling knowledge that you're heading down a very dark tunnel of despair clings to you, forcing you to turn the page and breathe deeply because you're sure that if you don't, you might drown in the utter sadness of it all.


I can not recommend this book highly enough. I wish I could make a wish for all of you to simultaneously have this book land in your lap and there be a mass reading of it.

I was stunned when I entered my five star review into Amazon that 'Looking for Alaska' had received a handful of one star reviews; then I read them. If there was any justice and sense in the world they would be removed. Some people have given it a one star because it happens to have perfectly common teenage sexual experiences referenced and some readers have been outraged by the fact that this is classed as teenage fiction. It's a shame; I can't wait to hand my thirteen year old daughter this book as a thing of beauty, an expression of raw and truthful human experience. I rarely read books twice but already my hand itches to open up its pages once again - the only problem is that I've got to reclaim it from the chain of friends who have also fallen in love with it.

WAY BEYOND 5 STARS! A WHOLE GALAXY OF THEM.

Oh, Mr Gove, please back off Ms Meyer!

So the Education minister, Mr Gove, has slammed the recommending of 'The Twilight Series' to students in schools. Apparently they should be spending their time reading classics from the Canon of English Literature and not filling their head with the nonsense written by the likes of  Stephanie Meyer. (BTW, thanks Stephanie for taking the whipping for all of us 'rubbish' and 'unworthy' YA authors) Children, according to him, should be striving for intellectual supremacy, aiming to become the ultimate thinking machine - (oh as long as their thinking complies with the stringent boundaries outlined by Mr Gove's utopian ideal.)

‘‘There are all too many children and young people only too happy to lose themselves in Stephanie Meyer [...]

There is a great tradition of English Literature - a canon of transcendent works - and Breaking Dawn is not part of it. [...]  

The series author Stephenie Meyer ‘cannot hold a flaming pitch torch’ to George Eliot." Mr Gove

I am impressed that the man has read 'The Twilight Saga' because obviously he wouldn't talk about something he didn't have any knowledge of, would he? He wouldn't denigrate an artist's work without bothering to read it in its entirety, would he? After all, that would be as ignorant as saying Shakespeare is boring without bothering to read him. 


I am an experienced English teacher, judged as "Outstanding" by government inspectors. I graduated with a top class English Literature degree and I followed it with a Masters, which I passed with credit. I say this only because narrow minded individuals like Mr Gove need these 'validations' in order to judge an opinion worthy. In Gove's world such things seemingly matter - a lot! (In mine I've learned that these things mean very little and certainly don't make a person more superior.)

I love George Eliot. Both 'Middlemarch' and 'Mill on The Floss' are wonderful books that had a big impact on me. I have also loved reading hundreds of 'Canon' works but I also LOVE 'The Twilight Saga!' and the whole genre that it represents.

What Mr. Gove is forgetting, is that to be a truly Renaissance individual a broad experience and education is necessary. It involves having an open and curious mind. If we are stuck in a romanticised past construct of what is valid knowledge then it undermines the creative evolution of the present and future generation.

I will never forget sitting in an English Lit seminar with a lovely, incredibly intelligent, silver-haired English professor and noting (as he read Chaucer in fluent Middle English) that he wore a plastic 'The Simpsons' watch. The noting of this juxtaposition taught me one of the most important lessons of my entire academic career - truly intelligent people consume all aspects of culture; they see beyond the definitions of high and low, they transcend the self-conscious, pitiful attempts to appear more clever, and superior than their fellow man; they are humble, tolerant, open minded and most of all they are deliciously subversive.

There are hundreds of works from the sacred Canon of literature that were considered by misguided men of the era as nothing but 'pulp' or immoral fiction; Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights', Shelley's 'Frankenstein', Stoker's 'Dracula', Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterly's Lover' and so on and so on ... in fact you can probably sling all of the gothic horror classics into the 'trash' pile at once, and the mildly erotic romances written by women, and the works of The Romantic poets, and ... - I think the point is made.

The problem with judging and placing a value on contemporary works of literature is that it's a pitfall for snobbery. It is ignorant and arrogant to have the audacity to judge what popular works will stand the test of time and which will not. It is to have an unbelievable sense of inflated ego to petition the masses to 'educate themselves'. Education is not about a fixed curriculum, it's about engaging and understanding the world around us, about striving to understand the human condition.

When Mr Gove makes comments such as 'in the best primary schools children read the works of Shakespeare, Orwell, T.S Elliot' it exposes him as a fool. Yes, students may decode the text word by word but to 'read'? What does 'reading' truly mean? It means to feel, to understand, to empathise, to suspend disbelief, to comprehend, to experience, to associate ...

Do we really want our ten year old children (and younger if you believe his nonsense) to cogently decode and sanitise the incredibly erotic, psychological, violent and sometimes desolate works of Shakespeare, Orwell and Elliot? I certainly don't want those future delights spoiling for my daughter. I want her to discover Orwell, like I did, at the cusp of adult understanding, when he lifted the veil from my eyes about the very notions of authority. I want her to read Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' at the time she begins to experience her first flushes of romantic love. I want her to read Elliot when she is able to understand the true genius of his works; when she is able to piece together the cultural web that he weaves.

I also want her to read a whole load of 'pulp' (exactly the kind of stuff that I write) because there is an honesty and clarity of voice (often of the female voice - so blatantly ignored in the sacred English Canon that Gove so elevates). I want her to read for pleasure, for fun, for satisfaction, for thrills and entertainment, not just so she can validate her own intelligence through a misguided and antiquated (and patriarchal) notion of what is good and intelligent.

Mr Gove is attempting to construct a simulacrum of a golden age of education. Maybe it's about time he added the novel Don Quixote to his reading list - he might then become a truly educated man.

'Easy' by Tammara Webber

Publisher: Penguin
Genre: New Adult Romance
Audience: 15+

To be honest, the only reason I purchased this book was because I wasn't going to miss out on the WHSMITHS' Buy one get one half price offer and I was in a rush for the 22.40 train out of Waterloo. It's sat on my TBR pile for a couple of months and it's only because it was a last minute grab before a family outing to Bushy Park that it got placed in the picnic bag - and I am so glad that I did!

 I didn't hold out great expectations, despite it being a 'New York Times' Best Seller' and so I was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity of the prose and the pace of the narration. I quickly found myself propelled to read on about Lucas' and Jacqueline's story and completed the book in just a couple of sittings.

Webber explores the really dark side of college campus life and the complexities of the Frat house politics - something quite alien to these British experiences. Jacqueline is a really easy character to travel with; she is honest and reflective and her growing attraction to Lucas is easily echoed in the reader.

 Despite the blurb's suggestion that this is 'another' 50 Shades erotica type - it isn't and it's all the very better for it. This is a classy, restrained and totally seductive, sexy read. I don't want to give too much away about this book because I really want you to enjoy its unfolding story as you read it.

  Here is the official blurb: 'I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before turning around. It was Lucas who stood there. His gaze was penetrating, not wavering for a moment, and my pulse hammered under his silent scrutiny. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so full of pure, unqualified desire.' Lucas is the stranger who saved Jacqueline from an attack by a fellow student - she'd never noticed him before and then, and now he's everywhere. But can Jacqueline trust him - or will the secrets he's hiding come between them?

5 entertaining, happy-reading stars!

This writer's life ... The attack of the lazies.

Welcome back creativity. The sun is shinning, the birds are singing - the muse is dancing. Creativity is a strange thing - well in my experience. I can easily understand the link between artistic genius and insanity, (however I seem to be having more of the insanity and a little less of the genius!)

So why haven't I been writing?

For me creativity is a fickle and bewitching thing. She will quite often arrive with the sounds of trumpets and then fade away in the middle of the night leaving me a little confused as to why I'm sitting on the sofa unable to face the WIP.

I'm amazed by some of my fellow writers who appear able to keep up a relentless pace of productivity. I click onto their Amazon site and see that they have produced 12 or so (yes that wasn't a type error) novels in the last two years and I sigh with something like a mixture of longing and perplexity.

You see it's not a lack of inspiration. It isn't writer's block. It's a different beast entirely. The stories are there in my head. I'm often mentally writing whole scenes as I'm doing the school run, the ironing, the hoovering, the commute to work, the shopping, the ... (ah, the joys of the writer mom with day job too)

I too have at least 12 novels all there waiting like little beans tucked up warm and snug in the dark of my imagination but it's getting them actually written. And I can't even say it's a time issue. There has been plenty of time in the last month when I've been sat on the sofa stuffing my face with baklava and watching Man versus Food (Which is understandable because it's awesome but for the third run through?) when I could have been sat at the desk writing the last 10,000 words of my new novel.

Yes, you noted that... the LAST 10,000 words, so the other 65,000 have been written and I'm idling away the time when I should be racing towards victory and pounding my deadline into the ground - which oh, thinking about it was meant to be June. I guess we'll make that July now. (Note to self, go change the dates on website)

I've tried to be more disciplined; to write a daily quota but it just isn't me - my muse just rattles her chains to the point I cannot focus.

Now you see, I'm at the end of this post and I haven't even managed to arrive at the solution I hoped the writing of this would offer LOL. So I guess it's up to you guys to offer me your tips on how to beat the attack of the lazies.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

What is a blog hop? It’s a way for readers to discover new authors! On this stop on the blog hop, you'll find a bit of info about me and one of my books-in-progress, plus links to three other authors for you to discover.
Thanks to fellow author Clarissa Johal  for inviting me to participate in this event. You can click the following link to learn more about her work. Website: http://clarissajohal.com/

I've answered ten questions about my work-in-progress (giving you a sneak-peek). At the end, there are links to THREE other authors for you to discover who have answered the same questions.  Enjoy!

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

1: What is the working title of your book? 
The title of my book is 'Witchcraft' (Book One of The Meadowsweet Chronicles)

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
The series is a total mash up of all the occult films and books I used to love reading as a teenager. There are major influences from films like 'The Wicca Man' and 'Rosemary's Baby' along with my teenage viewing of programs like 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch', 'Bedazzled' and 'Charmed'.

3. What genre does your book come under? 
Paranormal Fanatasy. Occult.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's so difficult, mainly because I am useless at remembering actors names.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
Modern witch in the English countryside meets descendent of Salem witch hunter and finds him very annoying.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
The series is published by my small indie press house, Little Bird Publishing House.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It hasn't taken long at all, around three months; which is a big difference from the eighteen months it used to take me to write a novel.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I'm not too sure as I have purposely avoided reading 'similar' genre books as I don't want them to pollute my novels. At a guess, from what I've read about it, it's a little like 'Beautiful Creatures'.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I really wanted the challenge of writing a seven book series and I've always been completely obsessed by tales of witchcraft and English folklore.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Jeremiah Chase. He's incredibly H.O.T. lol!



Who's next on the NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP?

So glad you asked!

Below you will find three authors who will be joining me by blog, next Wednesday April 17th. Mark it on your calendars and bookmark them! You will be one of the first to discover a new "Work in Progress!"

Happy reading!

[Author’s] blog:

[Author’s] blog:

[Author’s] blog:

Amazon.com

Barnesandnoble.com

Musa Publishing

Author Website

Facebook

Blog

Twitter

Photography Portfolio

Spotlight & Giveaway: Summer Stone's 'Hell's Hollow'

"This is a very charming book with engaging characters and a quick moving story line." (Amazon Review)

BLURB: 

When Seraphina was younger, she healed her best friend's injured hand. Terrified by the inexplicable cure, the girl shunned her. From that day on, Seraphina found herself without friends, a freak and an oddity. And so she obeyed her mother’s rule to refrain from using her innate ability, heeded her mother's warning that its use could land her in the local mental health facility alongside her aunt and grandmother.

But when sixteen-year-old Seraphina finds a mysterious, wounded boy hiding in the hollow in the woods behind her house, she can't hold out against the overpowering urge to help him. She is drawn to him each night, and as they come to know one another, their irresistible attraction blooms.

She longs to uncover his secrets — where he comes from and why he's hiding and how he came to be so wounded — and to share her own, though she knows it's forbidden. And while her healing touch seems to be helping him, it's hurting her. When the symptoms of psychosis — experienced by the women in her bloodline who used their powers — begin to plague Seraphina, she is faced with the unbearable choice of saving her sanity or the boy she’s come to love.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Summer Stone loves immersing herself in the worlds that live inside her mind. When she's in the real world, she likes kicking back on the beach, exploring new places, reading (of course) and eating rich, gooey chocolate. She loves spending time with her husband and kids, which she does as much as she can. She writes young adult and women's fiction, both supernatural and contemporary, realistic and looks forward to sharing it with you.

CONNECT: 

My goodreads page can be found here: 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17370950-hell-s-hollow

http://summerstonebooks.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Summer-Stone-Books/541478442552845

https://twitter.com/SummerStoneBks

https://www.amazon.com/author/summerstone

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why I've serialised a novel on Wattpad.

THE OUTCOME OF NANOWRIMO 2013:

Back in November of 2012 I undertook NaNoWriMo, one of the best things I have ever done. It taught me so much about the writing process, and also about my writer's mindset. For those of you who don't know about NaNoWriMo then it's basically an international challenge to pen a 50,000 word novel within one month. This is no easy undertaking, especially if, like me, you are the kind of writer that likes to take over a year to write a draft.

However there is something magical about NaNoWriMo and that is it cuts you free. You're forced free of your inner editor (there isn't the space or time for it), it allows you to type, at speed, an authentic flow of your thoughts, words and stories. You don't worry constantly about the reader's experience - you just get on and write the story that is buried in your heart; the one that under normal circumstances you'd never write because you'd be crippled by anxiety and a million questions.

The result of my NaNoWriMo is the short novel, 'When Sorrows Come', a very modern reworking of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

THE SYNOPSIS:

A New Adult (16+ contains more adult themes) story of insanity, love and coming of age. A very modern reworking of Shakespeare's Hamlet. When Malachi's mother marries his uncle, his whole world turns on an axis. Dark and disturbing suspicions plague his mind over his uncle's attentions to his fourteen year old sister, Maud, and before long Malachi begins a truly self destructive journey that jeopardises everything he loves.

Like a light in a storm, Ophelia offers Malachi his only chance of salvation, but she has her own issues to deal with. With her bi-polar mother, Maud in and out of psychiatric hospital, Ophelia's love for Malachi threatens the very last semblance of her own sanity. The dark and dangerous chemistry that pulls Malachi and Ophelia unhealthily together in a twisted survivalist bond, is sure to lead to only one end; a tragedy - that is unless, Ophelia can find the strength to accept the light that comes with a true and pure love. The question is, will Ophelia submit to the darkness or take her only chance to escape from the one she desires above life itself?

PUBLISHING DECISIONS:

By the time I got to the end of November, not only did I have a novel in the trunk, but I had a novel that I really loved. However, I was in a dilemma. Because I had written it under such speed, the novel was (in my mind) completely unpublishable without months and months of editorial work. And with a new project of a seven book series (The Meadowsweet Chronicles) looming, I really couldn't foresee how this could be achieved. I was initially happy to shelve it for a while (It was going to be a long while) but then I read Chapter One and I discovered that far from needing the months of close editing I imagined, there was freshness to the work that gave it a certain energy, perfectly fitting for the story.

In the end I decided to take the plunge and treat the whole novel as an experiment, (much like Aldous Huxley used to do in his automatic writing exercises) and publish it with the minimum amount of work done on it. By this I mean all that has been done is a spell check and a check for consistency in details and plot but as far as structure and language go, it remains in it's purest form.

I have not done these checks all at once, because I knew that as soon as I opened the document to start fiddling with it, my inner geek would not allow me to leave it alone, so I have been proofing it one chapter at a time before uploading it on to Wattpad.

WATTPAD:

I'm still fairly new to Wattpad and in truth I'm still not entirely sure how it works, however I thought it was a great platform for serialising the novel and I love the fact that readers can comment and vote in direct response to a part / chapter that has been posted. In this way I hope to get some good critical feedback that I can store away for a future date when I 'properly' publish 'When Sorrows Come.' So far 'When Sorrows Come' has had over 380 hits, which is really encouraging.

ISSUES WITH DEFINING:

Because I wrote this novel straight from the heart without a conscious application of genre, trope, audience and 'purpose', it has been hard to try and define this novel. This was particularly highlighted when I tried to categorise it on Wattpad. It didn't really fit into Young Adult fiction which goes as low as thirteen (there is drinking, drugs, sex and swearing) and yet it seems a little harsh to classify it as 'restricted', because the sex is not erotica or hard core 18+ porn although it is unconventional and 'unhealthy', the swearing is the 'norm' for most 15+ year olds, the drinking (which is seen as much more taboo in U.S Young Adult Fiction than it is in U.K) is 'just' part of the teenage experience and the drug use explores the abuse of 'legal' highs rather than illegal drug taking.

As a result, I've batted safely and put it under the 'R' category with a warning that it is suitable for 16+ because we come back to that old dilemma of Young Adult writers being slammed for representing the authentic experience of adolescence when really most of society wants to think we are still in the world of Anne of Green Gables. (Ooh, feel another post coming on.)

Ideally, Wattpad would have had a NEW ADULT category, which is an increasingly used category for authors and stories with exactly the dilemmas I have outlined.

KDP SELECT - How to work it.

So for those of you who follow my journey, you'll be aware that almost a year ago (May 2012)  I wrote a post on 'Why Amazon KDP and I are on a break' 

In that post I explored the reasons why KDP wasn't working for me. Well a year later, I've approached the whole KDP thing in a different way and hopefully the results will be quite interesting.

The biggest issue with KDP is the exclusivity clause; which is in my opinion is unnecessary and aggressively oppressive. It is certainly not something that the Big 6 are playing ball with, which led me to the question, 'How are the traditional publishers using KDP select to their advantage?'

There are 2 main ways.

1) They are releasing sample chapters in the guise of 'books' - offering the reader a few free samples with a link to purchase the full novel.

2) They are having their author's release a short story or a novella with plenty of links to the other works (which are not on KDP select)

What they are NOT doing is signing up their main or whole novel up to KDP select and the exclusivity clause.


In order to do option 1, releasing sample chapters, they are having to 'publish' and register it as a separate work on Amazon. This does NOT involve having to register it with another ISBN or a catalogue at Neilsen, it simply means uploading it via Amazon KDP platform and having an AISN assigned to it.

Somehow this option doesn't quite sit right with me; yes, it's a clever way of directly targeting new readers by hitting the rankings in the FREE listings, but all they are really offering the reader is the same as the downloadable sample chapters which Kindle already provide. What it does achieve is the cluttering of the free rankings with samples of traditionally published novels that are already high up on the paid listings.

However, I have learned a lot from option 2 and have come up with the following plan.

NEW COVER

FRONT COVER: Firstly, it is more important than ever to have a front cover that grabs the readers' attention when jumping into the free for all race, so I have had my front cover professionally designed with an image that is fresh, eye-catching and immediately communicates genre.


SHOWCASEEven though they are shorts, I have invested in having them Beta Read and edited professionally - they are going to be the potential portal to my other works for new readers, so the first impression needs to be good.

OLD COVER

VIEW IT AS A PROMOTIONAL PACK: Secondly, I have thought about this 'giveaway' novella as a promotional pack. A teaser / gift pack for the reader. I ensured that there was plenty for the reader to enjoy so that they did not feel short changed. I included a personal note, a biography and YES, I INCLUDED CHAPTERS 1-4 OF MY NOVEL as a sample read at the end of the 'gift'.

CONNECTIONS WITH THE READER: The personal note explained how the short story, 'The Venus Club' led to the writing of 'Beautiful Freaks'. This then led onto sample chapters of 1-4 of the novel with a comment at the end saying TO READ THE REST OF BEAUTIFUL FREAKS FOR $0.99 CLICK HERE.

FOLLOW UP: I have ensured that the price of 'Beautiful Freaks' is reduced to $0.99 for a significant period after the promotion because I want to capture the reader once their curiosity has been hooked.

PREPARATION: 
TIMING: The promotion is on at the same time as a major blog tour for 'Beautiful Freaks' a connected piece of work, which means that there is quite a lot of internet media coverage going on already, allowing me to piggy back off of it.

MEDIA PACKS & BLOGGERS / FRIEND'S SITES: I also created a media pack and let other writers and bloggers know that it was available, making it really easy for them to create a spotlight on their blog. This has allowed me to direct my twitter followers and facebook followers to the spotlights and links to the promotional giveaway without directly hitting them with 'spammy' links to the promo. (Although it is acceptable in my opinion to use some of these direct links and posts because after all, your followers need to be kept informed)

CALLING IN FAVOURS: If you have worked hard at becoming an integrated member of the indie writers' community, shouting out and supporting your fellow writers then every now and then it is okay to ask them for a favour. Our community is awesome and I've been really touched by the efforts and support some of my fellow authors have offered.

INVEST: Set a budget for the promotion function on Facebook and some coverage on Twitter. It doesn't have to be a fortune but it offers a little boost to getting your information posts out there.

WORK IT BABY: During the promotional period you have to be on it, checking your stats, tweeting your peeps and announcing the achievements you are making. It's about letting the world know you're showering them with gifts without harassing them.

Watch this space for my evaluation of this promotion. So far it is going really well. 'The Venus Club + Song of The Moth' (2 Fairy Tales of Horror) has made the top 100 in the Horror charts in both the U.K and the U.S and has been in the top 20 for Historical Fantasy in both the U.K and the U.S.A. It would be really nice to see if it can hit the hallowed #1 spot but we'll just have to wait and see.

AND ON THAT NOTE, YOU CAN PICK UP YOUR FREEBIE ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS UNTIL MONDAY MIDNIGHT GMT.

U.K Link >>>  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Venus-Club-Horror-short-ebook/dp/B004V0VXFQ

U.S Link>>>   http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V0VXFQ

Beautiful Freaks Blog Tour: Supporter's Giveaway

Get your hands on this little beauty!

For your chance to win this limited edition 'Beautiful Freaks' mug all you have to do is join the 'Beautiful Freaks' event tour page over at Facebook. Names will be put in a hat at the end of the tour. 

JOIN THE EVENTS PAGE HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/135935139920574/

CATCH THE TOUR SCHEDULE HERE: http://katiemjohn.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/beautiful-freaks-blog-tour-has-started.html

FREE e-BOOK this Easter Weekend

COLLECT YOUR COPY

HERE
FROM FRIDAY 29th MARCH

The Salem Witch Society by K.N. Shields

The Salem Witch Society by K.N. Shields
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't too sure when I first started reading it. I though the style was a little clunky and for a novel published by such a prestigious publisher, I thought that the editing had not done the author's story justice - however I persevered and I'm really pleased that I did. The storytelling and the characterisation in the novel are really good and I particularly enjoyed the refreshing and complex character of Percival Grey.

The links to Salem (which as suggested by the title is meant to be the main underpinning of the book) didn't quite fit as well as they might and if I'm really honest, I skipped over some of the faithful reproductions of the original trial notes as they got in the way of the story; it was a bit like the author really wanted to demonstrate the detailed research they had done and was afraid that we might miss it, even though it was artfully woven into other parts of the story.

I shall definitely be buying the second book as the character of Percival Grey really captured my imagination and I want to read more. This is a recommended read although it didn't blow me away.


View all my reviews

Beautiful Freaks Blog Tour has started!

From May 25th to May 30th, my book, 'Beautiful Freaks' is on tour, making 24 stopovers at some wonderful book blogs. There will be interviews, info posts and other fun stuff, as well as a mammoth giveaway.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Anna Dase at 'Read Between The Lines' (RBTL) book tours for organising this phenomenal event and to all of the lovely bloggers who have offered space on their blog, their support and their lovely communications throughout the planning of this event.

FULL RBTL TOUR GUIDE SCHEDULE

BEAUTIFUL FREAKS TOUR SCHEDULE. 
All linked up: Click to go. 

Read Between The Lines Mar 25

As You Wish Reviews Mar 26

A Crazy Vermonter's Book Reviews Mar 27
The Book Town May 28
Amazing Books Mar 31

Shelves of Books Blog April 2

Nomi's Paranormal Palace April 4

Busy Moms Book Reviews April 6

The Journey Continues April 11

Immortal Crimson Reviews April 16

Recent Reads April 18

Close Encounters With The Night Kind April 19

Fae Books April 20

Confessions of the Paranormal April 22

Condygurl's Crazed Compedium  April 25

The Many Muse's of MaryLynn April 29

Breathe In Books  May 2

Susan's Wicked Writings May 4

Lady Amber's Reviews May 8

Airicka Phoenix May 14
Ever and Ever Sight May 23

Read 2 Review May 24

A Little Bit of R&R May 27

Intoxicated By Books May 29

PIRACY KILLS ART

Today I have had to contact FIVE different 'file-sharing' sites to have my 'pirated' book files taken down. This is a huge disappointment to me; I like to believe that the human race is essentially decent and yet I am staggered to see how many members and Facebook likes these sites have.

Not only do I NOT expect this kind of cheating and stealing from fellow members of the human race - I am stunned that READERS - yes, beloved, intelligent conscientious READERS, could ever think that this is okay.

If you want my book that badly and can't afford the £0.79p for a book that took me over two years to research and write, then contact me - I'll send you a FREE copy! In fact, if you head on over to my site www.theknighttrilogy.com I am GIVING EVERYBODY a FREE copy.

You see it's not about the money (well, sadly I do need to eat and fund a roof over my head and pay for the girl's school shoes, swimming lessons and ....) but it's the principle. You can have all of my books 1-3 in the trilogy for £2.50 so why would anybody want to cheat me out of that?

Piracy is a betrayal. It's grubby and it's self destructive. People want writers and artists to produce work and yet a frighteningly large proportion of people seem unwilling to pay for it. Newsflash - AN AUTHOR CANNOT INVEST THE TIME TO WRITE  IF THEY CAN'T SUPPORT THEIR FAMILY - they have to go and work at something different, something that will pay! And for every hour they are stuck in an office job, stacking shelves in the supermarket or doing something else, they are NOT writing your beloved stories.

I am an independent writer. I am not rolling in film-deal royalty checks (and it wouldn't matter if I was) The people who download my book on file sharing are AS GOOD AS ROBBING MONEY OUT OF MY POCKET. People who would never dream of sneaking up beside me whilst I'm pushing Betty Boo in her pram, in order to stick  their sticky little paws into my handbag and steal money from my purse, will sit in their homes and happily, without conscience, steal from me. This really, really saddens me - what are we without moral integrity?

Book Spotlight: Beautiful Freaks

Well, it's absolutely freezing outside - to the point I had mild frost bite yesterday afternoon despite wearing my gloves. (To be fair, I do have terrible circulation in my hands) So in my opinion there is only one thing to do in such vile weather - that is to indulge; a thick continental homemade hot chocolate, the heating on full, a nice woollen blanket and a book that helps you escape.

So if you're looking for a good read (I'm going by the reviews here) for a small outlay of just $2.99 then maybe my book, 'Beautiful Freaks' is for you.

I highly recommend Beautiful Freaks. If you plan to read a few chapters at a time, you may want to wait until you can settle into a comfortable chair and have plenty of time to read. Once I started this book, I had to finish it. Katie M. John has created an extraordinary tale that will pull you in and have you begging for more. (Goodreads)

It's set in the dark and violent underworld of late Victorian London and tells the twisted and destructive love story between the eighteen year old Kaspian Blackthorne and the older Evangeline Valentine, owner of an exclusive club in the Haymarket that is known for its Palace of Beautiful Freaks.

Their love story is set against a series of brutal and strange murders which leaves the intelligent and genteel Detective Steptree with no other conclusion but that they are paranormal. With each murder, the reader is taken into a fairytale, whereby they meet a whole cast of dark and wicked characters that tell the story of our cast of heroines.

Taking classic fairytale images and ideas, I've created a series of stories that invert the classic helpless heroine story and show her triumphing over adversity and abuses.

As the stories all come together, heading towards their inevitable tragic ending, the reader is forced to choose their loyalties - and things aren't as straight forward as they look.

Over to the reviewers: 

"5 Glorious Stars. Fans of Tim Burton will love this book!" (The Murder House)

"What a stunning read, this author never fails to surprise me with her imagination!" (Emma Darch Harris)

"This book is a fantasy like no other and is so far beyond amazing" (Turner's Antics Book Review Blog)

"Beautiful Freaks is such a phenomenal book! I was pleasantly surprised how emotionally involved I became with many of the characters. Their stories and backgrounds had my heart aching, while my curiosity was peaked wanting to know how each would fit into the grand scheme. " (Tina Donelly)

GET YOUR COPY FOR JUST $2.99 at Amazon.com or £1.58 at Amazon.co.uk 

SPRING GIVEAWAY FOR KNIGHT TRILOGY 

25 e-Book copies of The Complete trilogy 1-3

5 Swagpacks, postcards, magnets, and bookcharm.
A Knight Trilogy Tote Bag

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR NEWS: Submission opportunities.

I've been thinking that it might be quite useful to have a post once a month that flags up short story / submission opportunities for authors in the wider publishing / small press / zine world.

Submitting short stories is a really good way of getting your name and your work out to a wide audience and building your author profile and experience.

The easiest way is on a spreadsheet, so that is what I have done. I have split it into ANTHOLOGY/ZINE opportunities and COMPETITIONS. I will endeavour to keep it as updated as possible. If any of you come across submission opportunities, please leave a link in the comment section below.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS SHEET

The Indie Author: The tethered Cash Cow?

It's now officially official, there has been a reading revolution and it has happened super quickly. In 2011 14.9 million e-readers were shipped world wide, add that to the 14.9 million of 2012 and the predicted 10.9 million expected to be shipped in 2010, we get a shed load of people who own an e-reader. (That's not counting the tens of millions who own a tablet with e-reading application)

Undoubtedly Amazon led the way in the e-Reader revolution with its Kindle e-Reader. The mega powerhouse that is the Amazon book store was suddenly portable and instantly on hand to anybody with one of their magical little devices.

When coupled with its incredibly easy to use self publishing platform the indie book revolution exploded into the world. I was fortunate to be at the right place in the right time at the end of 2010 with the release of my first indie published book.

At the time, Amazon offered writers like me the opportunity to indie publish their work and have a 'level' playing field amongst the traditionally published houses - in fact a possible advantage. Offering 70% royalties on books over £1.49 was an incredibly enticing opportunity. Some writers who were canny enough to be prophetic already with a back catalogue of 10+ books even found themselves making hundreds of thousands of pounds (and we've heard about the millionaire indies, John Locke and Amanda Hocking)

But with the e-Reader thing going bonkers and the self-publishing world changing every turn of the Atlantic clock, the bubbles of optimism were sure to burst. And so they have...

The impact of the $0.99c Price wars: And the real winner is...

Firstly nobody really understood or thought that the price wars would impact on indie works so much. Humbled by their legacy-reputation of vanity publishing, indies soon realised that in order to gain a readership they would have to lower the price (and value? of their book) to $0.99 / £0.79p. I resisted for a long time, not because I believe readers should be milked for every cent, but because I knew that the $0.99c route was a very perilous one indeed. In the end market forces forced the decision on me and I lowered the price of my first book to $0.99c. It was a gamble that paid off in lots of ways but Amazon was quickly becoming Saturnine; yes, you can lower your book to $0.99c but you will only get 30% royalty.

There are now hundreds of thousands of $0.99c books on Amazon, and that is a lot of $0.70c profits filling up their coffers.

I am yet to understand why there is this difference in % royalties other than Amazon knowing that they are on to a very, very good thing and the indie writer is now nothing more than a domesticated cash-cow: Tethered fast by the KDP select program which insists on exclusivity to take part.  Goodness knows why (other than it being an overt attempt to monopolise the book selling world)

KDP Select & The dangers of all your eggs in one basket: 

In principle this is an excellent facility. When it first came out I jumped at it and had several very successful promotions. However it was early days for The Knight Trilogy, and at that time I was happy to be 'exclusively' on Amazon. But as time has gone on and I've had my docs specially formatted for Smashwords premium catalogue (allowing me access to iTunes / iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Nook and Kobo platforms, establishing profiles on each of them) I am reluctant now to pull The Knight Trilogy out of those for the sake of being able to freely give away a couple of thousand copies on Amazon.

 I'm increasingly wary about putting all my eggs in one proverbial basket - especially with a predicted fall in e-Reader sales (predicted to be as low as 8 million in 2014) as Apple, Samsung and Android tablets come storming up the market. (For more information on these market trends head over to http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablets-Surge-Ereaders-Struggle/1009555 )

I opted out of the KDP select program for this very reason about 12 months ago in order that I could investigate other platforms - unfortunately, such is Amazon's hold on the worldwide market that sales on sites such as Smashwords and e-zreader are very minimal.

How to make a living on Amazon: Series and coming to an agreement with your readers

I'm lucky that the genre and audience I write for lends itself towards series, which means I can afford to have my first book on at 0.99c and then have the rest of the series on at a more realistic living price. (Point of note: I have a 88% follow through on readership, with readers happy to pay £1.49 - £2.49 for books in the rest of the series.)

Interestingly though the readership thing is complex and despite having an 88% 'loyalty' for The Knight Trilogy, my stand alone novel 'Beautiful Freaks' has really struggled and I am probably going to have to lower that to $0.99 for a time (Gut galling as it is by far a more technically accomplished book and a gorgeous story - it's the favourite of all I have written)

I love writing, I love story telling even more. I want to spend my life writing books but I need to be able to pay my mortgage and put shoes on my children's feet. So I'm going to marry my love of writing with my business head; I am writing a 7 book series - and no I'm not compromising on quality. It took me four years to write the Knight Trilogy. I am planning on writing and publishing book 1-2 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles this year. I couldn't have done this four years ago (or before completing NaNoWriMo or investing in Scrivener) but I am more skilled, a stronger writer, wiser about what my readers want from a book. My readers want beautifully, passionately, honestly told stories that let them escape. They do not want the wordsmithery of Umberto Eco or the almost too clever genius of Will Self that leaves them feeling intellectually unworthy. My readers are clever, astute, savvy and will not take any messing - they know what they like and they have high expectations: I strive to meet them. My love of writing and their love of reading will make us a happy bunch.

From the business point of view, the books will be lower priced at the beginning of the series (after all my readers are taking a gamble with their hard earned cash) and then we will come to a compromise whereby the reader acknowledges my need to eat and their need to read on. However, I will never screw my readers over by whacking them with a $24.00 price tag for one of my new releases! (They'll stay below the $3.99 tag)

N.B Bundles: You can see from the image that another way around the 30% royalty issue is to bundle all your books into one and then charge $3.00  for the complete bundle. This way your reader is still paying the golden 0.99c a book but the writer is getting 70% royalty. It's swings and roundabouts - you lose the potential of a higher gain by readers going onto buy 2-3 at a higher price but you capture a 70% royalty outlay from the start. A few of these a month really boosts your royalty account.

How to bite back the hand that feeds: Refuse to play Amazon ball.

There is no denying that as an indie, I NEED Amazon and apart from their blatant exploitation of my vulnerable position as an indie, they serve me very well. Over 90% of my sales come from Amazon and it is because of them that I have bread on my table (I could afford wine to go with it if they cut me a 70% royalty on 0.99c!)

But there are ways that we could change things and one of these is promoting more of our work with the Smashwords links. Smashwords is a 'hidden' shop. Authors and those in the writing community are mostly aware of it and it has become very much the place where authors buy their own reading material. Smashwords offers a set royalty of 70% regardless of list price. It also allows the author to run coupons, giveaways etc without the demands of exclusivity.

Smashwords gives readers the choice of their download format - catering for almost every form of e-Reader and tablet device. Just because a reader has a Kindle it doesn't mean they are trapped into buying their works from Amazon - we can chip away at their sales monopoly. Readers can hop over to Smashwords, fill their Kindle with $0.99c books and know that the writer is getting a fair deal - a living wage.

Call to arms: 

• When tweeting links to your books alternate them between the Amazon page and the Smashwords page. 
• Write a blog post explaining to readers the buying options they have and how you are striving for a better deal for writers. 
• Refuse to put all your books on Amazon at $0.99 and help to push the 'norm' back to $1.49 and a 70% royalty agreement
• Love Amazon for all they do for us but don't let it be unconditional. Run your giveaways through Smashwords and spread your book across various platforms (Beware the falling e-Reader sales) 

USEFUL LINKS:

SMASHWORDS PAGE: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/katiemjohn 

e-READER ARTICLE at emarketer.com http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablets-Surge-Ereaders-Struggle/1009555

Added at 3.39 Saturday 23rd Feb: 

As I said in the post, things change so rapidly and here is living proof over at Publishers' Weekly

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/56042-indie-booksellers-sue-amazon-big-six-over-e-book-drm.html 

It seems that it isn't only authors that are feeling the tethered effect of the Amazon powerhouse. Several independent booksellers are suing publishers over DRM and the monopolisation of the e-book market by Amazon.

 “Consequently,” the complaint states, “the vast majority of readers who wish to read an e-book published by the Big Six will purchase the e-book from Amazon.”