Epic Vampire Novels and Vampire Hunting gear giveaway

I've always loved watching vampire movies. Back when I was young, they were mostly part of horror movies and were *actually* scary. Still, I loved them.

When Twilight came about, vampires were handsome teens in love with regular high school girls. I loved them then too.

Now, I read vampire books that have both horror and romance in them and everything in between. If you are like me, you'd love this giveaway. Enter and have the chance to win these awesome books and this really cool vampire hunting kit ;)

Click here to enter! And good luck!

Halloween Special Read

There are secrets to be unraveled as she rides out to investigate the mysterious murders occurring at Castle Szerdoben. Lenara and the Guardians must have their wits about themselves as they face a dangerous, faceless enemy that threatens to wipe them.

Enjoy this dark, suspenseful tale taking place in the deep shadows of the Carpathian realm of Maldorfina. A perfect read for a dose of horror on a chilly October night. 

Get the book here! FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

The complete Rose Chronicles

After a heck of brainstorming session with my Phoenix Prime colleagues, I decided to work some more on Graveyard Rose. 

I have been in the process of rewriting the first book and while doing so, realized the story would best fit as separate installments. Now that I am looking back at it, almost a year later after having written it, it feels more like a saga.

I spent a lot of time organizing my thoughts. Here's a road map of the books that are there and coming up.

Also, this graphics was done by me! Needless to say my Photoshop skills have also improved in leaps and bounds!

It's not always about winning

Last month I entered one of my recently written and unpublished novel on Kindle Scout, hoping that Kindle Press would publish it and I can win the $1500 of advance along with additional marketing from Amazon. Sounds like a great deal, doesn’t it?

Well, I did not win.

However, I’m beyond grateful towards everyone who nominated my entry and helped spread about my book. To see the orange “hot” tag on my book day after day was the best feeling ever.

You must be wondering when I would start ranting about why I lost or when I would start saying that losing it was the best thing to happen, or that winning a Kindle Scout doesn’t really matter in the long run. This post is not going to be about all the things. It’s about something that I discovered through this experience of putting my book up in front of everyone and waiting to hear the results since the day I applied.

Three years ago when I was frantically applying for doctoral programs, a rejection letter like this would depress me for days, leaving me incapable from working on more applications. But today, I don’t feel the hurt I used to feel. My book got rejected and somehow, this failure does not bother me at all. Instead, I am already planning what to do with the book, when to publish it and go through a final edit.

I suppose I’m starting to see the truth in what many successful people have said during interviews and in their biographies. When you love what you’re doing, outside opinions and perspectives stop mattering. It’s the doing that gives you joy. Everything else takes a backseat.

For me, writing and publishing my books give me great joy. It’s an even greater pleasure to see people reading my books and appreciating the story. It doesn’t bother me if someone tells me they don’t like my stuff because I’m not doing this to gain someone’s approval. I am writing because it gives me joy. It’s days of hard work, but at the end of the day I am left feeling satisfied and fulfilled. At the end of the day, that is what matters.

This experience has opened my eyes to my own feelings about what I am doing. Here’s hoping I’ll see more success for the book in the future.

Nominate Strands of Fate on Kindle Scout

You can now nominate the book on Kindle Scout. Just follow the link and hit "nominate". You will also get an exclusive peek at the first few chapters of the book.

Click here to nominate the book.

If my book wins, I will send you a copy. To receive it, make sure you're on my mailing list. For any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me :)
Happy voting (on my book :P)

Summertime

We are steadily progressing through May and before we know it, summer will strike. For many, it’s a much awaited time of the year but then, there are folks like me who cringe at the prospect of long days and very short nights.

I am a night owl. Nighttime holds a very special place in my routine. It’s the time when I can finally relax without having to answer to my boss’s calls or be annoyed by my loud neighbors. I can unhook my bra, throw it far away and lean into my pillows. Then, I pick up the book that’s been calling out to me the whole day. The moment when the book opens and the fragrance of its pages reach my nostrils, I know I am home.

Sometimes, the plot in the book is so good that it will keep me awake all night. Unless it’s summer. Summers barely give me a few hours to enjoy my books. By the time, I get into the good parts, the sun comes out and the birds begin to cry out. As if on cue, my annoying neighbors wake up to go for their walks and I can hear them arguing loudly about the declining state of our country. That is when I have to shut my book and wait for nighttime to come again, so I can go back to nirvana.

The weekends during summer are dedicated to walks in the park, barbecues in the backyard and may be to go on a vacation. Time for socializing increases, but my inner night owl hoots and shrieks to go back to my solitary bedroom where I can spend my free hours with my books, undisturbed and untroubled by norms of the society. It yearns to wear the most comfortable (ugliest, most faded) PJs and sip a warm cup of tea with cookies on the side.

So, while a majority of human kind will be enjoying their pool time activities, I’ll be staring out into the void with a frown on my face, waiting for autumn to come, to bring back the longer nights.

Men doing romance- How Ed Sheeran's songs changed my mindset

In between writing today, I headed over to YouTube (procrastination 101) and to my most pleasant surprise, there was a newly uploaded video on Ed Sheeran’s channel. It was titled ‘Galloway girl’ and it just took me back to the time I at university in Scotland. So, I hit play, the music starts and he goes “she played the fiddle in an Irish band and fell in love with an English man” and I was hooked.

I kept playing it on loop and the story in the whole video made me smile and cry at the same time. The places that he visits with the girl in a vibrant city like Galway or Dublin is filled with things that we have all done and perhaps, this is the reason it hit me so close to the heart. A night out with someone special. Even though you do something as mundane as hopping from pub to pub, you still feel excitement and joy because of the man or woman beside you.

As I sat sipping my tea, I thought back to his other popular songs like “Thinking Out Loud” and “Shape of You” and it hit me that these songs are all about love. It’s the kind of love that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives, whether you’re the romantic kind of girl or the girl who sweats it out at the gym or someone who just likes to have fun.

I am guilty of having a prejudice against romance books written by men. It came from a belief that men don’t really understand feelings, that they are not as deep as a woman’s but Ed Sheeran broke that perspective of mine today. All his songs are beautiful and make me feel so much love even though it is from the view point of a man.

So, from this day on I am going to be more open to reading romance novels written by men. I will make sure that it is the story description of the back that draws me to read the whole story instead of the name of the author.

Look ahead!

Sometimes in life, things don’t go our way and we can’t help but wonder if it’s just us.

For the past week, I have been trying to place an order on Fiverr to get an e-book cover done from an artist who assured me that she could do the kind of art that I really wanted, only for the price of five dollars. I even showed her examples of complicated beautiful designs and she insisted she could do one for me even better. She did not have a portfolio ready but I decided to trust her. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

So, I eagerly hit the order button but to my disappointment my payment was not getting cleared. I wrote back to Fiverr and PayPal and then finally made trips to the bank to understand what was wrong with my account and my card. The woman told me that she was already done with the cover and I started feeling even more frustrated.

 All of a sudden, she attached the cover that she had done for me, asking me what revisions I wanted for it. Even though I did not download the picture because I had not paid for it yet but just looking at the image from the thumbnail told me that it was a stock photo with the title of my book slapped on it.

At that moment, I thanked the universe for halting me in my steps from making a big mistake. Even though it’s just a matter of five dollars, I would not use such a cover for my books even if they were offered for free.

I politely told the woman what I thought of her design, apologized to her for wasting her time and left it there. I am not going back to her again or answering her queries because she is definitely not a book cover designer. Slapping on a title and author name on a stock photo does not make it a book cover.

So even though, it felt like life was against me, it was actually working for me. Oftentimes we cannot see it or even want to believe it but life always wants to work for us, with us. It doesn’t matter where you are in your journey at the moment, if you keep your focus and work hard, you will make it.

Fates Unsealed - New paranormal fantasy series on its way

A little known fact about our hero, Christopher is that is an awesome cook. I suppose his culinary skills are only portrayed in the first book, Graveyard Rose, where he cooks delicious, comforting meals for Lena.

I am a cook myself and love to potter around in my kitchen. Stews are my favourite dish in winter. I like to add a lot of herbs and spices to mine, so that it warms me even more. A chunk of bread to dip in the luscious sauce is all I need as an accompaniment to a bowl of stew. Well, I suppose I won’t mind a glass of rich red wine too!

So, without further ado, here’s my recipe for the beef stew that Christopher whips up for Lena she is recovering. It is closer to a ghoulash recipe, I suppose. Mind you, his tastes better than mine because he cooks his on an open flame and it adds an additional later of smokiness to the dish that you just won’t get from your regular home oven but trust me; it is one delicious meal!

Here’s the ingredient list.

·  1kg flank steak

·  1 tbsp vegetable oil

· 300 grams potatoes

· 100 grams carrots

· 4 sticks of celery

·  2 onions (sliced)

·  8 garlic cloves (minced) (I know it’s a lot but really does work)

·  2 tsp hot smoked paprika

·  1 tbsp paprika

·  1 beef stock cube

·  400g can of plum tomatoes

·  2 tbsp tomato purée

·  2 bay leaves

·  Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper

Here are the steps to follow.

·  Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the meat into rough chunks. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

·  Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the pieces of meat and fry until browned all over. Add the onions into the pan and cook with the beef until it softens. Add garlic.

·  Sprinkle paprika over the meat and add the stock cube. Add water, tomatoes, tomato purée and bay leaves. Season to taste and stir well. Add the cubed potatoes, carrots and celery sticks to the pot. Allow it to come to a boil and then cover with a lid and transfer it into the oven. Cook for an hour to two hours until the pieces of beef are tender and break apart when pushed with a fork.

© Ginny Clyde, 2017

Petals of Reminiscence- A short tale

Lena was wrapped in the heady scent of roses as soon as she entered her bedchambers. Her eyes went to the bouquet of wild yellow roses that sat by her bedside table but to her sudden consternation; the flowers were beginning to wilt. Bronze and rich golden petals lay around the blue vase that held these floral beauties.

The curtains fluttered as a cold breeze blew in through the windows. Suppressing the shudder that passed through her, she strode towards to the window to shut the glass panes away. Latching it tightly, she turned back to the roses. Every time she looked at them, a warm feeling spread through her heart, bringing in sweet memories of the man who had gifted them to her and the first words she remembered him uttering to her.

"She clings to life as tenaciously as the rose which grows from the cold, inhospitable graveyard soil," spoke the stranger at her side. "A graveyard rose!"

It was astounding to think that a stranger would read her soul so closely when people who had been closest to her had never looked below her societal facade of being the daughter of a noble house. He had given strength to her very spirit as she lay fighting her own death in the mountainous cave of Hijkarden.

With a start, she felt an intense need to preserve the roses that connoted so much to her. They were her first gift from Christopher, who had saved not only her life but her precious sister’s too. Without his aid a few nights ago, she would not have been able to get the nightshade berries that Bella needed for her life-sustaining potion. Christopher had come to mean so much to her in the recent weeks that she was afraid of losing her heart one more time.

In a moment of light headed romance, Lena leaned towards their open core and smelled their fragrance deeply. Eyes fluttering close, she remained ensconced in her momentary surrender to her heart’s desire. The need to preserve those blossoms intensified, bringing with it a wonderful and yet simple solution.

Opening her eyes, she slowly made her way towards the shelves that contained large tomes of history. Choosing the fattest of them all, she heaved it out of its resting place. It turned out to be an old Bible that had belonged to her grandmother. Her injured ribs made it difficult for her to carry the heavy book across the room towards the edge of her bed but she refused to call a servant. The maids were an impertinent lot and would not hesitate to ask her why she needed to haul a Bible in the middle of the afternoon. Besides, she was in no mood to chastise them or explain them why she needed it, for she doubted her own feelings.

Dropping the book on her bed, she took out a pair of scissors from the bottom drawer. Choosing the best rose among the withering blossoms, she picked it out from the vase. As she did so, some more petals dropped on the table top. She used the scissor to cut off the long, sturdy green stem. Placing it aside, she opened the Bible to its middle section. Picking up the rose, she caressed it one last time and placed it on the yellowing page of the tome.

“My feelings and remembrance shall always be preserved now; in this token of affection that he bestowed upon me, filling up the dry desert of my heart with blossoms of ...love,” she declared softly in the silence of her room. With a smile on her lips, she closed the tome.

© 2017 Ginny Clyde

Would you like to read the story behind this? Get it here!

Copyright © 2017 by Ginny Clyde

Just Publish!

When I decided to dive into the world of indie publishing, I was hopelessly clueless. I had a story manuscript  to begin with but I didn’t know what to do with it. After combing through a lot of videos and informational sites, I decided to go with Amazon. Someone said that Smashword’s Meatgrinder will drive me crazy and that is the only reason I moved away from it. Now, that I have published my book by going through all the processes of formatting, I see that Smashwords’s formatting requirement is not that different from Amazon’s! Only the manual and instruction layouts are different. Of course, Amazon wins on that score!

The next question to ponder was whether I should go for KDP Select or not. I was apprehensive because there were some who warned new authors against Amazon’s KDP Select program and then there were many who would swear by its effectiveness. Some said that Amazon helps in promoting books that are in the KDP Select program and that of course, made me jump right in because promotion and marketing are important, right?

Just as I was feeling like I had done an amazing job and started joining author groups, I realised that there was still loads more to indie publishing. Tons of more tips and ideas on how to get noticed, how to sell more books, getting your readers to subscribe to your emails etc. It was overwhelming to say the least! But, I had one advantage now. Since, I already had a book it became easy to socialise with other authors and share my problems with them. Some of their advice seemed logical but was against popular mass opinion. Getting real experience as a published author helped me to navigate through a sea of information.

I often see new writers asking for advice about publishing on author platforms. While it is a great way to gather knowledge and step into publishing with good ideas, you will never really know what works for you and your book until you’ve really published and waited a few months to see the statistics on sales.

I have come to understand that self-publishing success factors depends on a lot of variables. What worked for one person, may not work for you. I personally did not gain anything by putting my book in KDP Select. My book’s ranking has been the same over a period of two months. However, there are authors who will tell you that they make more money from Kindle Unlimited than actual sales. It’s all a matter of trial-and-error!

I would, however, advise you that if you have a book manuscript ready, go ahead with publishing. Go through the process of editing, formatting, book cover designing etc. It is scary at first but then, everything starts coming together and you will enjoy the process. Don’t just dip your feet in the waters, jump right in! It’s the only way to test these waters!

Copyright © 2017 by Ginny Clyde

My Tools

Just like any other creative pursuit, whether it be painting, singing, dancing or making crafts, writing needs tools too. The obvious thing one needs to write is definitely a pen. But is that so anymore? As computers and laptops have pervaded into our work desks, the old journal and leaky fountain pen have been gathered up to be left in a corner collecting dust. 

I recently came across a post on one of the Facebook author groups where someone asked advice on using a dictation software. Before seeing that post, I had no idea that something like this already existed! So, that made me think. Writing has more tools than just a notepad and a pen.

These days, I do all my writing on my laptop. I might occasionally pen down some plot points in my journal but I type it out later in a Word file. I have folders dedicated to plots, research material, photographs and art etc. stored in my computer. Until now, I have used MS Word to write all my stuff. I am comfortable using it as I have learned most of its features over the years. The software also helps me to edit and polish my draft by highlighting spelling and possibly grammatical errors.

Recently, a writing software called Scrivener has become very popular for story writing. After looking at the screen shots that a fellow author sent me, I was impressed by how easily and efficiently I could manage a story using that software. So, did I start using it too? 

No. Simply, because it feels like too much work to start learning a new software when I have manuscripts that need to be finished! Scrivener has a 30 days trial period but even that was not enough to entice me to downloadit. I often wonder if it is just me who prefers to be in their comfort zone instead of just learning something new. 

I guess that we writers have developed our own personal tools that we prefer just like a painter prefers a certain brush or a musician a particular brand of instrument. There is no need for any embarrassment for whichever tool you choose to implement. If you want to dictate your notes to the computer because it is a fast way to get the writing done, by all means do that. And if writing with a pen on a notepad feels more comfortable, carry on! Use whatever you need but don't stop writing!

And before I forget, let's not forget that cup of brew (tea/coffee), the magic elixir which keeps us going!

© Ginny Clyde 2017