Love Lies Bleeding FREE via amazon #kindle

My novella, Love Lies Bleeding, can be downloaded for free today and tomorrow (Oct 27 & 28) via your Kindle reader or app. If you do grab it for free over the next two days, I would love to hear what you think of it … the novella in itself is a bit of an experiment for me, as it is the first time I have attempted to translate one of the my screenplays into narrative form.

Genre: Horror/Comedy/Romance

Synopsis: Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady. Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies. They need Pamela alive. So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by black ops agents, tortured by mobster warlords, hunted by a psychotic killer, and chased by zombies … all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

WARNING: Love Lies Bleeding is a darkly comedic, bloody romance about love conquering all, even death. This is NOT a young adult novel. It contains graphic violence, nasty language, and more than a little bit of flesh eating. There are no soft kisses, soulful stares, or moonlit rainstorms.

The novella is approximately 28,000 words, and currently followed by a twelve-chapter excerpt from the novel, After The Virus.

LinksAmazon US & Amazon UK & Amazon Germany & Amazon France & Amazon Spain & Amazon Italy & Amazon Japan

My favourite quotes:

“Denial was Erwin’s friend, and favorite vacation spot.” – Chapter 4, Love Lies Bleeding

“I can’t figure out what we are playing at, good cop, bad cop, concerned nutritionists …” – Phil, Love Lies Bleeding

“Don’t worry dear. Be a good girl and you never have to find out what’s in the crate.” – Mr. Doyle, Love Lies Bleeding

“I’m just looking to match this empty shell to my departed soul.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

“I need help. Or at least directions. I’m being chased by a psycho … killer, though given the day I’ve been having I could be wrong about his intentions.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

I hope you enjoy the free read!!

A review of Blackheath by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Blackheath – An Elathien Solo Mystery by Scott Fitzgerald Gray & Quinn Hamilton

Synopsis (via Amazon): In the great Free City of Yewnyr, the Blackheath Refuge is home to the victims of the most powerful magic in the Elder Kingdoms — those wounded in body and mind by dark mana, ancient curses, and the hunger of the undead.

When an invisible killer is unleashed within the refuge, the brash investigator Elathien Solo must contend with indifferent authorities, a spurned lover, and a young patient’s terrible secret as she searches for the truth.

And even as a dark conspiracy of murder and madness unfolds around her, Elathien is forced to cope with the still-raw scars of the time she herself spent as a patient within Blackheath’s walls…

FOR MATURE READERS

My thoughts: I really liked this story. I find it has stuck with me the next day – this rarely happens for me – and I am looking forward to more instalments in the Elathien Solo Mystery series.

Caveats: I picked up this book on a day I was seriously under the weather. It took me about four chapters to get wrapped up in the story … I was struggling with vocabulary and the formal tone of the writing for a bit. The writers had me actually looking up words, including arcane, which I was pretty sure I knew the definition of (I did), and rereading bits of information at the beginning. But around chapter four I stopped doing so and just let the story unfold for me.

I came to really like the main character, Elathien — though I have no idea if I am pronouncing her name correctly in my head — she is brilliantly flawed (I love that in a character), fearless and fearful, powerful but restrained with that power (intriguingly so) with a dark, dark past.

I don’t think I have ever read this blend of genre before – a fantasy/mystery – but I quite enjoyed the meshing of the magical dark fantasy world with the more classic mysterious medical-facility plot structure.

The main mystery of the story was nicely interwoven with the mystery of Elathien’s past with just enough of an intersection between the two to keep it interesting but not overly contrived.

Also, I must say I did enjoy the extremely tasty (!!) SEX scenes, which are explicit, but not shockingly so.

I give it a solid 4 stars. You can currently find the ebook at Amazon for FREE, though I am not too sure for how long.

*Disclosure note: I know Scott Fitzgerald Gray. He edits my writing. I have no idea who Quinn Hamilton is, except he she (how about I do a little research before post, hey?) co-wrote this novel and I liked what I read.

——————————–

EXCERPT

Elathien was forced to take a step back as Nerani turned on her suddenly. A dark strength had worked its way through the girl, giving her the tone and disposition of a different person. The thought set Elathien on edge as she called up the cantrip of detection, the incantation barely a whisper.

“She knew all their names,” Nerani hissed, pushing closer. “She knew what they did, what they needed, how they lied. She wouldn’t have told, but their fear blinded them. Made them not believe her. So I felt how long it took her to fall. How her legs broke, her spine shattered when she struck the ground. I felt her bleed to death in the dark…”

There was no magic in her. No sign of the possession or enchantment that Elathien would have sworn she was seeing, no sign of Nerani’s thoughts or actions controlled by some outside force. With a sharp cry of pain, the girl pushed past her, stumbling toward the laboratory door.

Which was open now, Elathien saw.

The white light from the corridor beyond pushed up against the pale glow of Elathien’s spell-light, shimmering along a boundary like oil and water settling slowly against each other.

The door had been closed when Nerani stepped away from it. A thousand things could have explained it opening, from the most minor incantation to a loose latch and a breath of air from the corridor beyond. Elathien felt a chill twist through her all the same, rising from the base of her spine as Nerani turned to her.

“They killed Irandis,” the girl said. “You wanted to know.”

“What?” Elathien’s voice caught as she spoke. “I wanted to know what?”

“You wanted to know why I came here. To Blackheath.”

Nerani’s steps were steady as she made her way down the corridor, bare feet silent on the stone floor…

Love Lies Bleeding free — today & tomorrow — via amazon #kindle

My novella, Love Lies Bleeding, can be downloaded for free today and tomorrow (Sept 29 & 30) via your Kindle reader or app. This is the first time I have offered any of my books for free, so it will be interesting to see how the free days go. If you do grab it for free over the next two days, I would love to hear what you think of it … the novella in itself is a bit of an experiment for me, as it is the first time I have attempted to translate one of the my screenplays into narrative form.

Genre: Horror/Comedy/Romance

Synopsis: Pamela just wants to reunite in the afterlife with her dead fiancé, Grady. Problem is, Grady was a secret agent, and his coded emails have infuriated both his employers and his enemies. They need Pamela alive. So, instead of her planned suicide, she is kidnapped by black ops agents, tortured by mobster warlords, hunted by a psychotic killer, and chased by zombies … all necessary evils in order to ultimately walk into the sunset with her true love.

WARNING: Love Lies Bleeding is a darkly comedic, bloody romance about love conquering all, even death. This is NOT a young adult novel. It contains graphic violence, nasty language, and more than a little bit of flesh eating. There are no soft kisses, soulful stares, or moonlit rainstorms.

The novella is approximately 28,000 words, and currently followed by a twelve-chapter excerpt from the novel, After The Virus.

Links: (available via all 6 stores): Amazon US & Amazon UK

My favourite quotes:

“Denial was Erwin’s friend, and favorite vacation spot.” – Chapter 4, Love Lies Bleeding

“I can’t figure out what we are playing at, good cop, bad cop, concerned nutritionists …” – Phil, Love Lies Bleeding

“Don’t worry dear. Be a good girl and you never have to find out what’s in the crate.” – Mr. Doyle, Love Lies Bleeding

“I’m just looking to match this empty shell to my departed soul.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

“I need help. Or at least directions. I’m being chased by a psycho … killer, though given the day I’ve been having I could be wrong about his intentions.” – Pamela, Love Lies Bleeding

I hope you enjoy the free read!!

Guess what came in the mail today?

I almost immediately yanked them out of the box while squealing – I didn’t even hear the mail courier drop them – but I managed to contain myself long enough to grab my phone and snap a picture:

These are the proofs for After The Virus and Spirit Binder from Createspace. I been anxiously waiting for these to arrive (almost three weeks from shipping date, FYI).

I needed scissors to get the packages open … I guess customs opened the package at the U.S. border, so hopefully they liked what they saw: I DO!!

Interior: After The Virus
Interior: Spirit Binder

It is so exciting to see them in print!

Now to approve the proofs!!

A review of We Can Be Heroes by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Death and Friendship. 
Love and Gaming.
Mind and Machine.
The Meaning of Life.
High School Graduation.
The End of the World.
That Kind of Stuff.

A group of teens discovers that the online game they’ve been playing has serious, life-impacting consequences. While this tight knit group seems on the edge of unraveling at the beginning of the book, the author skillfully interweaves the plot of his action-packed, sci-fi thriller with an exploration of the relationships of his characters. At times, they hate each other as much as they care, but when faced with life and death, games, guns, and secret military organizations, they choose truth and love.

This is rather obviously my kind of book.

I hesitate to elaborate further because I don’t want to give too much away about the plot, which, though it starts slowly, ramps up into glorious action and heartwarming love story. By the midpoint, I was gobbling up the novel and turning the pages as quickly as I could read. By the end, I had tears in my eyes. Unreleased, but still tears.

Normally, I would quote some of my favourite lines when reviewing a good book, but in this case I feel the reader needs to discover this world as the author has presented it, beginning to end, and not in bite-sized pieces. With that said, I will at least hint at my absolute favourite line, which is the accumulation of a running motif. This motif is almost painstakingly set up by the author as a way to describe the feelings of his main character, who also happens to be the author himself. Yes, this is written as semi-autobiographical.

Crazy stuff happens. It can’t all possibly be true. You’ll have to read it to figure it out.

I’m going to read We Can Be Heroes again. And I very rarely reread. I give it a solid 4.5 stars. You can currently find the ebook at Amazon (click the book cover picture above). The paperback version would also soon be available.

*Disclosure note: I know Scott Fitzgerald Gray. He edits my writing. I should therefore be harder on him than other storytellers, just to get back at him for tearing my words apart. So perhaps I am. Perhaps I should have given We Can Be Heroes five stars. Man, sometimes I can be a meanie.

Around The Web Wednesday…

 

A review of Suzie Ivy’s “Bad Luck Cadet”

I first stumbled across Suzie Ivy via her blog, Bad Luck Detective, and last week I was happy to see that she had released her first book, Bad Luck Cadet, which I believe is a collection of her early blog posts. I immediately bought and then, very soon after, read Suzie’s book.

I really liked it.

I knew I would, but still I am glad that that was the case, because — if you hang out with me at all regularly or if you’ve read any of my writing — you will already understand how unusual it is for me to like and follow a writer who is, in this particular incarnation, a memoirist.

Suzie Ivy is the Bad Luck Detective. She chose to become a police officer at the age 45 – it was a tough, male-dominated road (read her book). I don’t even know her and I think she is an amazing person. I really do love her stories. Actually, some times, I can’t believe they are “real life”.

So what exactly do I like about Suzie Ivy, and, in particular, the Bad Luck Cadet?

Beyond appreciating her as a person for the difficult lifestyle choice she made when becoming a police officer, I love how she has taken her police work and simply shared it with us all. She is insightful and humorous. I have actually laughed and then teared-up in the same chapter. Her writing is personal, but not overly dramatic. She details her real life in a completely accessible, and even charming, manner. She lets the poignant moments be, so you almost stumble upon them, rather than dressing everything up in flowery “look here” language.

The Bad Luck Cadet is a new, fresh character in the “cops & robbers” world, and I look forward to reading many more of her adventures.

Suzie’s next book is due out January 13, 2012!

The Bad Luck Cadet is currently .99c on Amazon!

Around The Web Wednesday…

  • Writer Suzie Ivy recently read and reviewed my novel, After The Virus – “Bad guys become good, worse guys stay bad and humanity fights for what’s right. What more could I ask for? Oh and then Doidge added zombies. Bottom line, I loved this book!”
  • A brand new project of mine can be found over at Yesterday’s Sunsets  – in an effort to offset the massive amounts of writing I am currently doing on the Harbinger first draft, I felt I needed another creative project, but not one that would consume too much writing time. I had always intended to document the amazing sunsets we are so lucky to get here in Vancouver, and this seemed like a good time to start doing so. I am adding a bit of random dialogue along with each post – just to keep my writing muscles flexed (in a different direction) as well.
  • Currently reading, Bad Luck Cadet by Suzie Ivy and very much enjoying it! I’ll post a review when I am done, but you can find excerpts of the book (and her next one) over at her Bad Luck Detective blog.
  • Just read Scott Fitzgerald Gray’s novella, The Twilight Child, and though I usually don’t read high fantasy, (which I believe is the correct term) I really enjoyed this short story. I even reviewed it!!
General update: I just cracked the midpoint of the Harbinger novel, and am trying to not get distracted by a new idea to redo my screenplay, Love Lies Bleeding, as a novel. I actually have most of the third act written for Harbinger, so it’s a bit deceptive to say I am only halfway. I should have a completed draft by the beginning of December, then the rewriting begins! I’ll continue the Flash Fiction Fridays every 2nd Friday and start posting some short stories soon as well. Sales for After The Virus have been steady (thank you!), and I am working on a POD (print on demand) version that I hope to have ready for Holiday shopping.

Hope you are all well – I just can’t believe it’s NOVEMBER!!

Around The Web: After The Virus, etc.

Only two items (that I know of) of note this week, as I have been doing more writing than web surfing, which is good of me, but makes a bit of a boring post (with only a couple of links).
  • Michelle over at Michelle’s Book Blog took a read of After The Virus this week and ranked it 4-stars! Hopefully her readers enjoy it as much as she did!
  • Also my great proofreader, Diana Cox, (who, BTW, found a multitude of things in what I thought was a really clean final draft, plus her rates are crazy reasonable) was kind enough to request After The Virus as one of her featured books on her web site. Thanks Diana!
Hope you are having a great week!
FYI – !!Beginning next week!! – Flash Fiction Fridays and then, alternating somewhat random weeks, Short Story Saturday – accumulating in the release of After the Virus in POD (print on demand) and then the launch of Harbinger!

Around The Web: After The Virus, etc.

If you are a writer and not reading these blogs you are crazy (okay, that’s a bit extreme seeing as time is a limited resource, but still check these out):