My Review: The Burden of Truth by Peter Best

April 4, 2016 gibbsdreamLeave a comment

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NKEOW34

This is the kind of book that you either learn something new about the meaning of life or you get reminded of something you already knew and as a believer in the Law of Attraction I think you read it when you need it in your life.

There is a great storyline, believable characters and lots of threads interwoven into this book with great skill. I felt as though the author knew the places he wrote about well and gave me a glimpse of places I have never visited.

My only complaints would be that it could do with a bit of a polish and places need tightening up and that the conclusion to the drama was a little bit too handy for my liking. Loved the ending though.

Aside from that though it was a thoroughly great read and I will be looking out for more work from this very talented author.

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review: Souls of The Never by C.J Rutherford

April 2, 2016 gibbsdreamLeave a comment

http://amzn.to/1UzPbmu

Following on from Tales of the Neverwar.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the friendship between Katheryne and Perri although not sure that Perri would accept so easily the dreams as being real. Both feisty girls but in different ways. The relationship with Derren didn’t strike me in the same way, it was nice but I believed more in Katheryne and Perri.

There was a lot of repetition in places which slowed the story down and there were so many threads that at times I struggled to work out who was who. Having said that though it cleverly weaved together in the end and the author’s bold use of so many strands paid off.

A well-written thoroughly enjoyable book and I look forward to the next book in the series which just happens to already be on my kindle.

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review: The One That Got Away by MB Feeney

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 gibbsdreamLeave a comment

The One

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TT3CZ8E?ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

Heidi and Shane met as teenagers, they dated and they parted but they never forgot the other. They meet up again at a school reunion, after communicating and flirting on social media. This is a story of lost love and of new beginnings. This was a lovely read, light and entertaining. This author created believable, real characters with ease. A truly great story with a side order of raunchy. I knew where this story was going all the way along but it didn’t spoil it for me and the end did have an unexpected twist.
It scares me that I will have to add some more of this author’s books to my every growing TBR list.

Books · Life · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

Bookshop Bistro – Aiding Indie Authors

February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 gibbsdreamLeave a comment

There is a wonderful initiative that is run by one very busy lady, a pro-active author who helps other authors. Yes, you are quite right there are lots of people out there who do a lot to support the Indie community.

What makes this initiative special? This one could really work if more people took part.

The idea is that each week there is a spotlight author/book, for that week you have to either have your book priced at .99c or .99p or for free. Then then members over the space of the week buy this book. If they are so inclined, they can read and review also, but that isn’t a necessity. There is no spotlight for the weeks over Christmas and New Year, so the most you commit to is £50.00 or $50.00 per year. You don’t have to buy each and everyone but to make it work it would help. If you already have the spotlight book, you just write that in the comments box.

So what does that do? The increased sales, especially spread out over the week takes you up the Amazon rankings and once you get within the top 100 in a category you may get sales from randoms because if we’re honest how many of us have the patience to trawl through 500 pages to find a book we might be interested in- it doesn’t really happen. If you disagree with me, please feel free to scroll through until you reach mine, pick it, send me a screenshot of your purchase and I will be happy to eat my words. No really, please do that…now!

I was lucky enough to be the spotlight author during the week of the 15th February. I also followed this up with a BookHippo promotion. My Novella’s fall below the word count allowed for BookSends and BookBub otherwise I would have kept the momentum going with them.

So what happened for me? Before the spotlight my sales chart was flatlining, I was waiting for the time of death statement.

I am going to attach more screenshots here than you may want to see, but please feel free to scroll from the top to the bottom to give you the picture.

Amazon UK:

14/2/2016

15/2/2016 – Spotlight starts (5 sales)

16/2/2016 (3 sales)

17/2/2016 (3 sales)

18/2/2016 (1 sale)

19/2/2016 (0 sales – 1 review)

Didn’t do a screenshot

20/2/2016 (6 sales – Book Hippo that day also)

21/2/2016 (1 sale) last day

1 week later with no additional sales

Can you imagine what those figures would look like if more people participated, worth thinking about.

Amazon US:

14/2/2016 (2 sales) presumably the difference in time zones attributed to early sales

15/2/2016 (1 sale)

16/2/2016 (0 Sales)

17/2/2016 (1 sale)

18/2/2016 (0 sales)

No screenshot today

19/2/2016 (0 sales)

No screenshot today

20/2/2016 (1 sale)

21/2/2016 (0 sales)

One week later with no additional sales

Amazon Canada:

I didn’t have any ranking on the Canadian site, so anything was a bonus. I won’t post every day.

18/2/2016 (2 sales)

19/2/2016 (1 sale)

20/2/2016 (1 sale)

One week later with no additional sales

I would love to have been able to report that my sales had continued but alas that isn’t true but maybe had the amount of participating members been higher the rankings may have risen higher and stayed there for longer. I certainly enjoyed being part of this and will continue to support the spotlight each week.

If anyone hasn’t bought ‘As Dreams are Made on.’ I have left it at the sale price 0.99 in whatever country you are in.

myBook.to/Adamo

I would like to thank everyone who bought the book, read or reviewed or still plans to do so.

I would especially like to thank Tanya whose hard work makes this group possible. I want to end by doing a mini interview with Tanya.

Me: What was your motivation behind the Spotlight of the week?
Tanya: I was frustrated at how the big publishers are able to set a book off at a run when it’s released because of having such a larger support network. I wanted to see if we could develop a similar type of network for indies.

Me: What would you like to see from the group?
Tanya: I’d love to see it grow into the thousands and potentially branch off by genre.

Me: You are an exceptionally busy woman who not only works but writes so where do you find the time to help other people so much?

Tanya: There’s a saying, “if you want something to get done, ask a busy person” lol. I love helping people, it’s inherent in my nature, as such I tend to make the time to do the things I love. It helps that I don’t have a social life too haha.

Me: You have published your own book, ‘Dreams of Beautiful Whisper.’ when do you plan to make your book the spotlight of the week?

Tanya: My plan was to wait until I had book 2 completed, though that’s been delayed a bit, so I’m not sure on my timing. I also didn’t want members to feel that the purpose of the group was self-serving for my own book, so I haven’t made my book a priority for the Spotlight. I’ve also tried to stress to those submitting their books for the Spotlight that it’s important to have supporting marketing lined up for before, during and after a Spotlight position in order to maximize the benefits from it. I don’t have that stuff lined up for my own book yet, so that’s another factor in me holding off for now.

Me: Have you got a release date in mind for book two?

Tanya: Originally I was aiming for, well now lol, but a variety of circumstances in my life has caused a delay. So at this point I’m really not 100% sure when I’ll get it finished. But I am hoping to at least have ARCs available before the summer. (It is coming along nicely and my read along editors are loving it!)

Me: What advice would you give to anyone starting out on the journey of writing?

Tanya: As for the writing side – just do it. Make sure you’re writing something (anything) every day. Keep learning about the craft and always aim to improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation and word choice. For the rest of it, don’t try to rush the process. Do your research, learn the ins and outs and then approach it all very methodically. This can be a huge challenge for creative types as we do tend to be more sporadic and random by nature. But if you’re wanting to publish your work (by any means) it’s important to treat it as a business and to make sure you have a well thought out plan in place that you then consistently execute.

Please check this group out on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1675211409402187/

or on the website:

http://panopticnews.com/bookshopbistro/

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My review of Origins of Never by C. J Rutherford

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016 gibbsdream2 Comments

Origins 51Aat3p01uL._SS300_.jpg

A fantastic 5* prequel to Tales of the Neverwar.
Two young men grow up together, Olume with the promise to be the ruler of the beautiful land, Teralia, they live in and Tenybris, his best friend. This land is a place where evil doesn’t exist; everyone has what they need to live, and they do so in harmony.
But life changes and when Olume marries Lynnaria, the woman that Tenybris also loves then life as they know it changes. Tenybris makes a few bad choices which opens him up to a different path that he can’t seem to escape.
I love the way the author has weaved the threads of this story. The story although fantasy does have a strong element of reality in it.
Warning this book contains dragons.
Can’t wait to open up the next book and as it is already on my Kindle, I won’t have to wait.

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review of Regina: The Monster Inside (Regina Series Book 1) by D.M Singh

January 24, 2016 gibbsdream2 Comments

Regina

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L9IS162?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

This is another book I have had gathering dust on my kindle for a while and the time seemed right to pick it up and read it.
Regina is a teenager who hasn’t exactly had a normal life as her parents move her from place to place and, as a result, she doesn’t bond with anyone, in fact, she’s never had a friend until she meets Imogen.
Imogen and her family introduce Regina to the secrets that her own family were trying to protect her from.
This author takes you on a journey with Regina as she finds out things that no teenager should find out about herself and discovers talents and skills that she would never have suspected. Along with these skills, she discovers dangers that would daunt even the most fearless adult. Who can she trust? Everyone is not as they seem.
This book contains a gentle love story, adventure, excitement, friendships and tragedy inside a well-told story. It does end on a cliffhanger so please can you hurry up writing as I can’t wait to read book two.

Books · Life · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review of Beyond the Butterflies – Tracy Pride

January 17, 2016 gibbsdreamLeave a comment

Tracy Pride

I’m not a huge fan of poetry, I rarely read it and can’t write it to save my life but having said that my niece who writes exceptional poetry has piqued my interest enough that when I saw this book I wanted to dip in and see what it’s about.

I will probably never be an ardent fan of poetry, but I did enjoy many of the poems within these pages and felt as though I got a glimpse into the author’s soul more than I would from prose.

My favourites:

My First Time Windsurfing – although a totally different sport it made me think of when I jet ski and the freedom I feel.

The Poet – really felt as though I got a glimpse of the author/poet herself in this one.

Sitting on a Hilltop – a great reminder to us all and particularly apt for all authors.

Halfway there – Inspiration

The Necklace – Lovely analogy of life

Sea and Simplicity – A reminder of life

Power of Words – Poignant

“Harsh words are often used to fight,

Cruel words hurt when used in spite.

Sad words draw blood that is crystal clear,

Bright words fill a heart will cheer.

(If you want to read more of this poem I recommend you purchase this sweet little book of poetry)

I am – Beautiful

“I am the crystal that reflects the light.

I am the star that can shine very bright.

I am the rain, when the clouds shed tears.

I am the courage that ends the fears.

(Again you will need to purchase to read on.)

This poet/author’s poems are simple and sweet and carry little reminders about what is important in life. I would certainly pick up more by her.

Books · Life · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My Review of “Fragile” by J.C Clarke

January 12, 2016 gibbsdream2 Comments

This novella is narrated by a male protagonist. It reminds us that by holding out our hands to someone in need we can make a significant change to their life as Stephen does when he falls in love with Ashleigh who has suffered more than any young girl should. He sees her standing in the corner of the Fairground where he woks and knew he had to make her his. It is a hauntingly beautiful rendition portraying love in its purest form.

I read this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also note that the author is the cover designer too which was so exquisite that it attracted me to buy it in the first place.

Looking forward to picking up more from this author.

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

My review of “A Glimpse into Darkness.” by Sherri A. Wingler

January 11, 2016 gibbsdream3 Comments

A glimpse

Having just devoured both of the current books in the Immortal Sorrows series I was excited to see more by this author. Without wanting to give anything away Fate is featured in both of the former books and A Glimpse into Darkness is a tiny prequel to them that gives her side of the story before the turmoil began.

It is only a taster and as with all of this author’s books it is exquisitely written. It could certainly have been expanded on more and maybe that is something the author will do at a later date. If you are reading this book first then think of it as a soupçon of what is to come. The next two books will blow you away.

Another 5* read.

Books · Self-publishing · Uncategorized

Happy 1st Anniversary

January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 gibbsdream5 Comments

A year ago today I hit the publish button and sat back waiting with bated breath. Oh don’t get me wrong I didn’t expect the world and his sister to rush out and buy it, but I did know that I was putting myself our there. Opening myself up to criticism, allowing anyone to put their opinions of my work on the net.

It has been an interesting year, a learning curve that opened my slightly innocent eyes.

I started with a cover that I made myself using a photograph taken from my sister-in-law (with her permission of course). I have to admit I was pleased as punch with it at first. The picture is lovely but as a cover put together by me didn’t work. It said nothing about the book and what you can expect when you open the cover. Eventually, I asked for advice from fellow authors on good cover designers who were reasonably priced. I was introduced to J.C Clarke from The Graphics Shed, who designed a beautiful cover and extras.

In that year, I have made some amazing friendships with other authors and also discovered their incredible stories. Amazon would have it that it is biased because I have spoken to them on social media but any reviews I put online are honest. If I didn’t enjoy reading them, I wouldn’t leave a review it’s as simple as that.

In one year I have sold 70 copies of this book for cold hard cash, one person has picked it up and read it through Kindle Unlimited which equates to cold hard cash, and I have given away about 60 copies for free. So there are about 130 copies floating around the world from England to America, South Africa, Canada and Australia, and those are the ones I know about. So I haven’t taken the world by storm, I haven’t even given it a tiny tremble, but there are people out there who are enjoying my work. (Maybe not enjoying too but I won’t focus on them haha)

Getting people who tell you that they have enjoyed your book to take a few minutes out of their hectic schedules to leave a review is the bane of an authors’ life. Reviews generate more sales or so they say. There is a magic figure; the actual amount seems to be in doubt, that activates the Amazon algorithms which in turn makes your book a product that they will market. Some say that 50 is the magic number. What makes it harder is that each Amazon is a different marketplace, so my reviews on Amazon.co.uk and those on Amazon.com and anywhere else don’t link up. When I leave a review for a fellow author I post it in .co.uk, .com and .ca the three biggest marketplaces, I also post it in Goodreads, write a post on my website and share in on Twitter and Facebook. It makes me incredibly happy when I see a direct link between a book review I have left and a sale for that author. At the moment I get emails from Amazon recommending my books to me, I can only hope these emails go to other people too. The more review I can get the more promotion, this will generate.
So onto my reviews, some of these are duplicated by authors who do the same as I do, but most are unique reviews.

The first one is from Amazon.co.uk, the one with the picture below is from Goodreads, the third is from Amazon.com, and the final one is from Amazon.ca

I am inordinately pleased with these. Writing can be a lonely business but seeing the pleasure that people get from my writing gives me the strength to carry on when I feel that there isn’t a point to slogging my guts for so little return.