One of my favourite authors, the fantastic Stewart Bint, will be releasing his new horror novel very soon. Here it is, the brand new cover for ‘In Shadows Waiting’:
Young Simon Reynolds lives a bucolic life at his family home, White Pastures, surrounded by a loving family and a charming community. Simon finishes his A levels and looks forward to unwinding while his sisters work on their tans.
Meanwhile the tiny community of Meriton has been plagued by a spate of burglaries, and White Pastures seems to be next. A shadowy figure stalks the house, but the police can find no signs of an intruder.
Inspired by the author’s real-life experience with the supernatural, In Shadows Waiting recounts a summer that changes the Reynolds’ lives forever. As the summer progresses, the shadows take on an altogether more sinister implication, and White Pastures begins to reveal a terrifying secret.
The epicenter of an event that has scarred an entire community, White Pastures grows more and more dark, possessed by a shadow that yearns, a shadow that will not be denied. At White Pastures, someone will die – but love never will.
I’m feeling very proud of myself today as my fantasy novel ‘A Chronicle of Chaos’ came 3rd in the Fantasy category of the SpaSpa 2014 book awards!
This is the first time I had ever been entered into a competition such as this and for a first effort, I don’t think third is a bad result! Hopefully next year I can push for a first 🙂
Many people have asked me about the meaning of the shield and symbols on the front of A Chronicle of Chaos, so I thought I’d take some time out to explain the significance of the artwork.
Each of the symbols on the shield represents a different faction in the war which rages across the land in the Light and Shadow Chronicles series. Some of the symbols are linked to the Children of Light, some the Brotherhood of Shadow and some entirely different groups of people (or creatures!) altogether.
Avalanche – a small elite unit of warriors fighting for the Children of Light. Some of the best soldiers in the whole series fight under this banner. Characters you may have met: Raven Lennox, Deacon Thialdor, Ryan Thialdor, Tiger Lennox
Children of Light – One of the armies in the eternal war, led by immortal matriarch and warrior, Callista Nienna. Characters you may have met: Callista Nienna, Hayden Lennox, Scorpio Bast
Nightfall – another elite unit of soldiers, this time from the generation below Avalanche. They formed their unit out of jealousy that they couldn’t get into Avalanche! They are impetuous, rash and often uncompromising. Characters you may have met: Chaos Lennox, Dana Thialdor (originally named Deianira Thialdor), Mercury Lennox
Demons – residents of Hell who have been summoned to fight for the Brotherhood of Shadow. Characters you may have met: Anathema, Phantom, Malla (originally named Maleficia), Anubis
Valhalla Elite – an elite unit of warriors in the Brotherhood of Shadow which formed to counterbalance the threat from Avalanche. Characters you may have met: (There is not much mention of these guys in A Chronicle of Chaos – the only character briefly seen is Vincent Wilda’s son, Silas)
The Brotherhood of Shadow -the army opposing the Children of Light in the eternal war, led by immortal warrior Vincent Wilda. Characters you may have met: Vincent Wilda, The Bavelize (ish – he is working with them currently)
D.U.S.K – The Democratic Union of Separatist Knights – a group of people who broke away from the two warring sides to form their own nation.
Characters you may have met: They haven’t appeared in the books yet, but will do soon!
Angels – a group of Heavenly beings that come to the Human Realm when the world is threatened by demons. Characters you may have met: Icarus, Samael
In A Chronicle of Chaos the two most prominent factions are Nightfall and demons. As such, those two sections are highlighted. In future books, different sections will be highlighted depending on the characters featured.
Both of my novels have been long listed in the SpaSpa Book Awards 2014 competition!
The Phoenix Project is running in the Psychological Fiction category and A Chronicle of Chaos is running for the Fantasy prize. How exciting! Finger crossed 🙂
One of my current projects is a children’s version of my upcoming novel ‘The Shield of Soren’. This book is one of the tales in the Light and Shadow Chronicles series and the protagonist is a mischievous 10-year-old boy – Soren Nitaya. Due to this, I decided to have a separate edition of the story aimed at children aged 9-12. This book is entitled simply ‘Soren’ and is written under the name ‘Danielle Cain.’
As a primary school teacher, I am lucky enough to have a wonderfully creative and engaged class of children right under my nose! I am currently trialling the book with my class and we are three quarters through. The children do not know that I wrote the book as I wanted their honest feedback and didn’t want them to suck up to teacher!
Well, the feedback from the kids so far has been AMAZING! They absolutely LOVE the story and are thoroughly engaged with the characters. Some comments so far include:
I love the way that Danielle Cain describes things. It makes you feel like you are there in the book.
The book is so good because when the characters are sad, I feel sad too, and when they are happy, it makes me feel happy.
It is the funniest and saddest book I’ve ever read at the same time!
I asked them to rank the class books we have read over the past two years and, aside from one or two die-hard Collins fans, this was the unanimous result:
Soren
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
The BFG by Roald Dahl
So, as you can imagine, there is a huge grin on my face right now! I’ve even had some of the children writing letters to the author to ask questions and tell her how much they are enjoying it! I cannot wait for the day when we finish the book and I tell them the truth.
I have been editing as I go along, making changes here and there, listening to their comments, adding more of the characters they love, cutting short the parts that drag, and all of this is down to the children and their comments. When the book is finally ready, I plan to give each child a free copy so they can see the dedication in the front to all of them. I feel so lucky to have this amazing opportunity to test-run a book. It is perfect market research right at my fingertips!
On top of all of this, my headteacher and another local head (who is very influential in the area) are very enthusiastic about my writing and thrilled about the prospect of having a children’s author working in their school. I have completed all sorts of lessons and activities based around the book, and so I have decided to put all of my plans and resources together and release a teacher’s guide and lesson pack to go with the book. I can then sell this to schools and teachers!
I am really hoping this will be a huge opportunity for me and who knows, maybe I’ll even get one of the big kids’ publishers interested. It’s all taking off!
Here are some examples of the children’s work based around Soren:
Who would you rather find in your bedroom, a steamy hose-wielding fireman or a dangerously obsessed ex-boyfriend? What if you found both? Romance writer Allison Fairchild is growing frustrated with her first attempt at Erotica until she reads a well-timed magazine article. What working man makes the best lover? The article sparks an idea and her eyes are irresistibly drawn to the top-ranked firemen just across the street. It might be coincidence or driven by fate but it is all the motivation she needs.
Ali has herself assigned to a firehouse and is committed to doing her job; getting incredible sex stories from actual firefighters and, in the process, try not to become one. At least that’s her intention until she meets the Captain, a by-the-rules professional with an enticing off-duty wild streak. Ali and the Captain put their wills to the test to resist the chemistry heating up between them. But unbeknownst to Ali, her cheating ex-boyfriend has set his eyes upon her again and if he can’t have her, no one can.
Author Bio
Erotic and Horror author, S.E.Rise attended Austin Peay University on a track scholarship. Later in life, he became a Captain of an ALS Ambulance in 1996. On his off time, he enjoys salmon fishing and strives to do the impossible. He now lives in Alaska with his wife and children but in 2007, he published his first novel and continues to write gripping and enticing stories which leave readers breathless.
A few weeks ago I organised and took part in a huge worldwide author event on Facebook called Get Down with the #Awethors. Another author named Rocky Rochford and myself put the event together, including cover wars, tag-line competition, character takeovers and just general discussions about books and reading. It was an enormous success and I was proud to have been involved with it because, all the events aside, the people who came along on the day were simply amazing. They talked, joked, laughed, supported one another and generally showed themselves to be a lovely bunch!
Being an author is not always easy. There are low days, very low days, and sometimes it’s all you can do not to give up. There are negative reviews, tough deadlines, harsh editors and that’s all the external pressures. I won’t even start on the crippling self-doubts and neuroticism many writers suffer from.
This group, however, has reassured me on numerous occasions that I can succeed and that I am far from alone on this difficult journey. I feel like I have a hefty fellowship alongside me on my descent into the depths of Mordor.
Since the event, the discussions have continued. We’ve had word count competitions, post tag games, and every time somebody posts a snippet of their writing asking for feedback, they can be sure to get lots of support and valuable advice.
To top all of this off, Rocky Rochford had the fantastic idea of putting together an anthology of short stories by all of our awesome authors. This anthology is due for release around October 12th 2015 and will be an eclectic collection of all different genres and writing styles.
October will also see our next big Facebook event, which is sure to be even bigger and better than the first one. Hope to see you there!
Hello and thanks for stopping by! I would like to thank my host for today for letting me invade their space. And a big thanks also to 4Wills Publishing for setting up this blog tour for me. For my previous tour stops, please check out the 4Wills current events page.
I am so excited to be able to share my book trailer video with you today for my latest book, Finding Katie.
Kate thought she had things under control. Thought she knew where her life was headed. Seems this new psych nurse has other plans. Whatever, first of all Kate has to survive the trip home to grab some things.
Excerpt from Chapter Three:
MY PALMS feel sticky with sweat by the time we pull up outside my house. We haven’t spoken the whole ride over here. The nurse’s little Ford Fiesta is in bad need of a clean, both inside and out. It’s good to be in the fresh air again. Still, I hang my head while I trudge up the immaculate walkway behind Melanie. Not a weed or bit of grit or fluff in sight.
The knock isn’t answered. Seventeen, and I still don’t have my own key. I shuffle my feet, and hunch my shoulders against the chill.
‘Cooey.’ Mrs Batty, my neighbour, trots up the path and waves some keys in her hand. Her dark-brown tights are laddered, and her skirt hem is all uneven. ‘Hello, dear. Are you feeling better? Your mum left keys with me. She had to go to work.’
Melanie steps forward and takes the keys. ‘Thank you. We’ll bring them over to you when we’re done here.’
Mrs Batty frowns at the obvious dismissal, but at least she leaves without a fuss. Her loose slippers flop and flap when she shuffles away. Nosy old bat. She’s the last person on the planet I’d want in my business.
The house is its usual spotless self. It sparkles more than the hospital. Mother probably spent hours cleaning all the blood up.
Book Blurb:
I killed someone, you see. I killed the girl, who used to be me.
I’m Kate … Kate Charlesworth. I’m seventeen, and self-harming. This time I cut too deep, and I’m in hospital. I hadn’t meant for it to be so bad—it just sort of happened. I needed a lot of distraction that day.
You’ve had bad days, right? Days it hurts too much to think. Days you just wanna stay in bed. Days when the world needs to go away for a while. Right?
What do you do when you’ve hit rock bottom? When there’s nowhere left to turn?
This one little mistake lands me back on a psych unit—the last place I wanna be. Only this time, the nurse I end up with isn’t content to stick on a band-aid and send me home. She wants me to face my demons. But to do that, I’ll have to face who I am … who I used to be … I’ll have to find Katie.
Harmony Kent is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She lives in rural Cornwall with her ever-present sense of humour and quirky neighbours. She is single and not admitting to her age.
Here are ten things she thinks you ought to know about her …
I’ve been writing one and off for ten years now but only got serious about it a few years ago, and I keep changing the goalposts. Initially, just finishing my first book was enough for me. I thought if I could just get it completed, I would be happy. But then I had a complete novel – it would be silly not to send it to publishers, right? So I sent it out to a few, got rejected, and was perfectly happy about that. I’d written a novel and even gone through the experience of writing to publishers. So, surely I’d be content there?
Nope. I shifted my ambitions again and decided to self-publish. In May 2014 I released my first novel, The Phoenix Project, with KDP select. It sold well and I was happy with the process, so in October 2014 I released A Chronicle of Chaos – also with KDP. Now I had two published novels (albeit self-published).
But, I’d proven I could achieve success with my writing. People seemed to like my work, so I decided to go the whole hog and submit to publishers again. I never expected it to actually go anywhere, so imagine my surprise (and delight) when Seattle-based innovators Booktrope accepted my books. I was ecstatic! The dream has been fulfilled, but in truth it is only just beginning. While you would imagine that getting a publisher makes a writer’s job easier, it actually adds to the immense workload. Thank god I love this whole writing business 🙂
So, this year I will be putting my two books through Booktrope’s extensive editing and designing process. With a brand new cover, and a thorough developmental edit, The Phoenix Project and A Chronicle of Chaos will be re-released.
What about my next books, you may ask? My third novel, and the next in the Light and Shadow Chronicles, is written and will soon be going through the editing process, with a view to release at the end of 2015 or early 2016. I am also writing a short story to go with the fantasy series, which I also hope to release this year. So stay tuned – there is far more to come from D.M. Cain. My journey on the way to full-time author is only just beginning.
Immersive fantasy fiction 