Authors at the Armouries is going to be an extravaganza of Indie and traditionally published authors in genres from romance, dark romance, children’s literature, paranormal and literary fiction, plus everything in between. We will demonstrate the power of “doing it for yourself” and how dramatically things have changed since I began publishing over ten years ago, when self-publishing was still frowned upon and taken very un-seriously. It’s now pretty normal for a self-published author to top the entire US Kindle Store. It’s no longer the traditional publishers i.e. the gatekeepers dictating who makes it to #1. It’s the readers who’ve begun to decide who makes it to the #1 top spot. This is in part down to social media which has made it possible for authors to reach readers directly. Taking control of their own marketing, with all the tools available to them, Indie authors are charging ahead in the bestseller lists.
But “doing it for yourself” can be difficult. The rewards these days can be immense, with Kindle Unlimited earning some authors 6 or 7 figures a year. And there is some major satisfaction for these authors who’ve done it for themselves. However… I’ve seen first-hand the commitment required, and it is their herculean efforts that get these Indie superstars to where they are.
The ideal scenario for an author would be that they write day and night, then hand over their work and see it catapult without all the EXTRA work required. Such as sourcing editors, cover designers, then sending preview copies to ARC teams, scheduling social media posts, creating social media posts, engaging with their readers, setting up Amazon, Bookbub and other ads, AND THEN, also trying to have a personal life, too. It is really hard and these achievements are VERY hard won.
Early in my career I was offered the chance to publish with various publishers and given plenty of advice by people who I can only describe as stiff and overly opinionated, and who would no doubt have butchered out the heart of my work. Which brings me to my point here: indie publishing offers both readers and authors stories of all kinds, with all the details often edited out by traditional publishers left intact. Indie offers freedom on so many levels and it was that freedom I found very hard to give up. So I never have. It means I can publish as many books as I want, when I want, how I want – because there’s nobody else to answer to.
I was reading an interview with a BIG author a while ago, can’t quite remember who now, but I think it was one of two people and I don’t want to perjure either, but they said something along the lines of “I give everything to that book, I say everything I want to in that book, so why would I want to say anything else on social media?” I mean, quite. But that is the way of things, these days anyway lol. Social media is a massive weapon that many of my authors use to absolutely slay.
There will be newbie authors at this event as well as seasoned, but I remember in the beginning, it was book signings that really changed the game for me and gave me that extra push I needed. It made things more real.
Sometimes when I tell my husband the news about our event and the latest developments he looks at me like this can’t be real. I feel that way, too. I’ve kept the emotion at arm’s length and I will do until the day when it will probably pour forth suddenly – when the people actually are in the room and it all becomes real.
We’ve got many people coming from overseas (not just Oz, but the US, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Bangladesh!) and it’s going to be unreal.
My event, along with many other book signings this year, will demonstrate that self-publishing doesn’t just offer the bigger royalty share. It offers a community unlike any other, where gatekeepers do not exist, choice is aplenty, support is unparalleled and CREATIVITY has no bounds.
Get in the mood for Valentine’s with this tale of love and landscapes! Set between London and the wilds of Scotland, this is a stalker/protector romance with lots of twists and turns . . .
BLURB
Lashings of steamy suspense mixed with whodunnit . . .
Travelling the world as part of her job as a fashion buyer, Flora laughs it off at first when she recognises she’s being followed around from place to place. When Caelan Cameron finally approaches, that’s when she realises her estranged gangster father has to be involved somehow.
Ex-SAS with a past to rival her own, Caelan is clever, gorgeous and determined – but can he be trusted? Flora’s mind says one thing, but her heart screams another, and when he takes her to his home up in the remote Scottish Highlands, she finds it very hard to resist him. Surrounded by the most beautiful scenery in the world, she begins to fall madly in love with a man who’s clearly hiding something . . .
The sequel and concluding part Fight for Love coming soon!
EXCERPT
I wanted to ask so many questions but as we turned down some quieter streets and he directed me with the strength of a bulldozer, I got dizzy trying to figure out what we were doing. When we ended up around the back of someone’s shop, down a narrow, short alley, he squeezed my hand and said, “Wait here.”
He backed me into a wooden gate that stood between two brick walls, so I was tucked in and obscured from view. I was moments from burying my hand in my bag and taking out the small handgun I’d taken from Suzie’s safe that morning, when he quickly climbed over the six-foot wall adjacent and walked along it until he then was able to jump to a wall on the other side of the alley—then climb up a drainpipe until he was literally scaling someone’s roof. All the while my heart was in my mouth. Despite his stature, he moved like a cat.
Then he crouched beside a chimney pot and grinned with a smile nothing short of feral. Reaching into his waistband, he brandished the gun from my bag, held it up and pointed it right at me. I doubted he would do such a thing in broad daylight, then I recognised that look in his eye.
He was showing off. That’s all he was doing. Showing off.
I shook my head and walked away.
“Idiot.”
I heard his laughing behind me, even as I got into my car and put the radio on, trying to drown out thoughts of him—and greatly failing at it.
Whatever he was hanging around for, I was going to get to the bottom of it.
Next year, I’m hosting “Authors at the Armouries” which will be one of the biggest UK book signing events – if not the biggest multi-genre author event of 2023.
Over on my event site I’ve been interviewing attending authors so you can find out more about the depth and breadth of talent we will have on offer next year!
It only seems fair however, that I am interviewed, too. So, I asked my very talented content-marketer husband to pose a few questions that he thinks you guys might want the answers to.
So here goes . . .
Enjoy x
Which writers inspired you and does anyone continue to inspire you?
When I was young, I used to visit the library and go home with a stack of how ever many books I was allowed to take out on my one card. The next week, I’d be back for my next stack. It started from there but back then, there was no such thing as a celebrity author or brand name, except for Roald Dahl I suppose. I used to read everything and anything and that has pretty much continued. I would say I’m more Brontë than Austen. I’m more Pratchett than Gaiman. I’m more Lisa Jewell than Jojo Moyes. In fact, I remember reading a Lisa Jewell when she used to write romcoms. I was a teenager and thought they were great. I’ve had a lot of inspirations along the way but because I chew up words like nobody’s business, I don’t worship at any one altar. I’d say however, I have an affinity with the Brontë family. I’m one of four kids, three girls and a boy, too. We grew up between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, religion played a big part in our lives, and sometimes things were tough. I really understood the sisters’ language, their burning passions. They were the classic introverts who made their way into the literary canon through nothing but imagination and hard work. I think if you’re a writer, with truth at your soul, you can’t help but find something in their work that sticks. If you’ve read my books, occasionally you’ll get a flash of that.
Alongside authors, what else inspires your writing?
Life, of course. I come up with new ideas on a daily basis because life provides all the material you’ll ever need. I’m also one of those people that others will spill everything to. They will tell me their life stories, maybe because I ask the right questions…? My husband always says, how did you get them to tell you all that? I don’t tell him my secret, don’t worry. There can only be one of me or else the world might implode!
People are so interesting and characters are at the centre of everything I do. I might detect a fragment of who someone is and think, wouldn’t it be interesting to write about them? And put a story to the person. I guess the only problem with all these ideas floating around my head and life being so busy – it’s a matter of selecting one story to tell at any one time. Sticking by that through hundreds of pages is a massive feat. Ideas are easy. Committing to writing them… a different ballgame.
Most people who meet me know something is different. I do have a way of reading other human beings instantly. If you have bad energy, I will know it and run the other way. I’m never wrong about that, either. If you’re anxious or unwell or angry, I will pick up on that and tell you. Sometimes people are offended by my directness, but I can’t help it that your closely guarded secret is really rather obvious to me. Sorry! But that ability to unearth truths is what has made me a writer. (And also, in every role I’ve ever held, a leader.)
What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?
There have been many proud moments, including being called one of the best of the British erotic authors. However, I did just write a trilogy of thrillers (pictured) through one of the most turbulent six months of my life – all while laying the foundations for this massive author event, too. Not to be sniffed at.
Are you still learning as a writer?
All the time. If you’re not, you’re not doing it right. The writer I was when I started wouldn’t believe the writer I’ve become.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a writer?
I think I mentioned this above. For me, it’s having a monumental amount of ideas whizzing around my head and sometimes having to force myself to carve out the time and proper headspace to pick just one to stick with. As an ultra-creative, I continually want to try new things and go in different directions. The practicality of that isn’t always possible. I know that my readers have books they prefer to receive from me, but, I have themes and topics that aren’t as popular but which I sometimes need to delve into for my sanity.
How do you put yourself in the mind of a reader when writing?
It’s simply not possible during the writing process. During this part of the journey, you’re a writer. And that’s different to being a reader. As a reader you have the amazing privilege of reading something polished and perfected. You don’t see the deleted scenes or the drafts covered in red pen. You never know about the foolish stuff your favourite character did before it got deleted (or maybe you do!). You never see the stage where the hero or heroine was more like a cardboard cut-out before they were made flesh. You never have to read the mountains and mountains of then, now, just, very, really, etc that eventually get deleted. All those errors though are part and parcel of an author making it to that final piece of work. Writing is the really exciting bursts of “ah-ha” moments and also the really crappy days or weeks of feeling like you’re banging on a brick wall for the ideas to come, when it all started out so well! And it is in those moments you have to remind yourself that every writer started off a reader – so maybe a bit of time spent reading for pleasure might spark your work back to life, and quite often, it does!
Writing is knowing that you might be writing something completely bonkers, but also knowing, maybe this will lead somewhere. That from the mayhem you may pluck out a kernel of absolute gold! And to a certain extent, a writer is completely alone with their work in the beginning, safe and secure – in a beautiful bubble of make believe. So while writing, I’m not imagining anyone is going to read it, I’m solely focused on the story itself. For that wonderful period of time, it’s just the work and you.
It is so very, very rare that a writer starts at chapter one and goes all the way through to the epilogue without encountering major changes along the way. As a writer, ideas might come to you in pieces. Maybe you have the plot, but not the character, or the other way around. I’ve known authors who find it easier to write the final chapters first, then they go back and start at the beginning because they have the stress of that “what am I doing?” bit out of the way. Most writers I know get it all out in stages for sure. You get it down as best you can. A few rewrites later, maybe then you give yourself some distance. It is the final edits when you start to think like a reader… You might then be asking yourself, “How will that be understood? Do I need more there, less here?”
One thing I’ve grown more and more aware of over the years is that readers do like to imagine a lot for themselves! They will skip a lot of over-description (I’m looking at you, Stephen King). Yet when it comes to the characters, you’ll find true readers tend to want to have the absolute full picture of the people they grow to love. So I find myself in the editing process making sure that the characters have become fully 3D.
Do you think that COVID changed our relationship with literature?
Not much, no. Stories are eternal. They have always been and will always be. I think obviously e-books did well during Covid because brick and mortar shops were shut and some of us started reading a lot more during the lockdowns. An e-reader weighs a lot less and you can hold it easily in the bath compared to the 600-page physical version. Escapism has always been a requirement and will continue to be. We take ourselves on a brain vacation while reading a book. It is the easiest way to download yourself into a different world.
How is Authors at the Armouries (AATA) going to be unique to other signings?
The scale of it for a start will be much bigger than what people are used to. I’m passionate about authors of all genres and especially Yorkshire authors so there will be a few more genres than usual, and quite a few local writers. Saying that we’ve got people coming from all four corners of the UK – and others from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia. As an experienced writer and an organiser, I understand what it is people want from both sides of the table.
With my first event last year, which I managed to pull off despite Covid, I found myself kind of crippled by the restrictions. Sort of like trying to keep everything as simple as possible so that it was ultimately achievable within the confines of “anything could still go wrong”. So with AATA (fingers crossed) I am hoping that I can finally take my foot off the brakes and unleash the full shebang.
What can fans and authors expect from AATA?
Over 100 authors to meet, buy books from, and laugh with, for a start. Also, a lot of extras and surprises. The full experience! I have a genuine wish for everyone, from reader to author to volunteers and whoever else tags along, to feel accepted, welcomed and part of something bigger than all of us. At events, you never know who you’re going to meet, what friendships you will forge that might last a lifetime. It really changes the game for authors who’ve never done this sort of thing before. It makes what you’ve accomplished seem so much more real… there will be a lot of emerging stars at this one.
What are you looking forward to most about AATA?
The Bridgerton Ball. Seeing happy, smiling faces. Hearing the unscripted nonsense coming out of authors’ mouths during the talks. Trying to manage my assistants who will be so excited they won’t know whether to laugh or cry. But especially, as the day wears on, I hope that most of the authors will have got into their rhythm and will feel a massive sense of pride in themselves and their work. Signings make it all seem real, even if just for a day.
You can meet 47 authors in the middle of the East Yorkshire countryside, all in one place! From romance to fantasy to thriller to children’s literature… we have a lot going on!
Raising money for Dove House Hospice with our raffle – you could win anything from a hamper to a book, a boudoir shoot or a tutorial on becoming a writer!
We will also have a special “Blind Date with a Book” stall. These will be discounted books with mystery contents – and every penny from the sale of these will go to Dove House Hospice, too.
With our charity anthology we are raising funds for Mind, the mental health charity, which needs our help now more than ever!
Today Only, if you use code FLASH20 at the checkout, you will receive 20% off a VIP or General Admission ticket. TODAY ONLY. And with limited VIP tickets left… grab them quick by clicking here
If you visit the ticket link, you’ll find all the details about this event. VIP tickets are not to be missed – you receive a VIP bag including a tote, mug, a copy of our charity anthology, early entry and a bottle of fizz. Please note, VIP ticket sales cease tomorrow night at midnight to allow time for ordering.
This is the only literary event of its kind this year and we are so looking forward to seeing all our readers again!
If you would like to guarantee a particular copy of one of my books, please make your selection on this form, which closes tomorrow night. You might already be a ticket holder but you didn’t go for VIP and now would like to order some merch, so please use this form, which also closes tomorrow, too.
Ruben is a man on the edge. He has no idea where Freya has been taken.
He’s desperate. He’s out of his mind. With few options available to him, he decides to take the art world by storm and wait to see how his enemies react. Hoping he’ll get the attention of whoever took his bride, Ruben holds his breath.
But is he exposing them both to even more danger?
***
Freya was on the cusp of marrying the man of her dreams when it was all wrenched away.
A foe from the past arrived uninvited, determined to wreck her life. He’s got plans for Freya: to twist her thoughts, torture her mind and bring her into his arms. Whether she escapes his clutches will entirely depend on her strength of mind.
Freya has overcome so much already, but can she overcome this, too?
Nobody knows who’s taken her. Nobody can find her.
Only her wits will save her now.
***
The final instalment in the Legacy Trilogy contains surprises galore, answers all the questions that may have lingered and features some major new players who’ve always been there, meddling in the background. It’s time to find out whether true love really can conquer all.
Excerpt
[He] wanted me to spend a fearful night in the tower last night as the castle rattled and shook against the elements. The building is exposed out here for sure. Sitting in the conservatory, I’ve noticed how vulnerable this property is to mother nature’s wrath and it’s obvious the chateau sits in a clearing surrounded by forest and indeed, there are steep hillsides on one or more sides… like we’re perched right on top of a mountain.
There’s something that doesn’t feel right about this house. It certainly isn’t a home. What did André do for the people who lived here before? Does [he] actually live here? Or is this place a glorified holding cell he only uses occasionally, and André likes that most of the time, he’s left to his devices and can pretend he’s in charge and that this is his house?
There are two tall lamps in the conservatory I’ve switched on and they are lighting up the place now the sun has firmly sunk beneath the horizon. It’s chilly in here since the sunshine stopped streaming through, but the creaking of a radiator lets me know it’ll soon heat up. Still, I imagine André has lit the fires by now and I am seriously considering braving the drawing room.
The wicker chairs in this room are complemented by rugs that picture scenes of nature, strewn across the room to protect bare feet from the wicked tiled floor.
I’ve got my fill of daylight and I’ve read nearly three quarters of Rebecca which I pinched from the library earlier. Library…
Alexia had a library at the place in Mayfair. She once offered me the chance to take a first edition for myself. The books I’ve browsed so far are mostly in English, a few in Latin, very few in French and none written in Portuguese. Ruben once said his mother doesn’t read English or French or any other language besides Portuguese, so perhaps she isn’t a reader, or they had a library in their house just for show.
This cannot be her house, though. She’s been living in Portugal. Ruben couldn’t be mistaken about that. Unless…
My train of thought is interrupted when [he] arrives and stands in the doorway, wearing what he was sporting this morning—suit and tie.
“You’ve been in here all day.” His arms are folded and he’s looking down on me with revulsion.
“Where am I supposed to go?” I shoot back, painting on a fake grin.
He takes a few steps forwards and looks around the room as if he’s never stood in here before and finds it unattractive and disinteresting. “I would like for you to dress appropriately for dinner tonight. You have an hour to make yourself decent.”
“An hour’s fine,” I retort, “but what about you? Some people don’t have a decent bone in their body. Five years wouldn’t be enough to shave the filth off you.”
A smirk spreads across his face and annoyingly, he looks impressed. “Careful, Freya. Don’t go mistaking me for him.”
He turns on his heel and his ghostly silhouette is absorbed by the dimly lit hallway, his figure like a wraith shrinking as he gets further away, something inhuman about his movements at this time of the day when leisure, not haste, should be the mood.
I take a deep breath and meet André as I’m about to ascend the staircase.
“Would madame require any help?”
“What for?”
“He wants you to dress accordingly.”
I lean in and murmur, “If you tell me what this house is, and why I have period costume in my wardrobe, perhaps I will obey.”
Looking for something to binge on the beach? In your garden? On the commute? This could well be the series for you. Packed with steamy scenes, complex friendships, drama and a few BIG surprises, the Bad Series is an epic saga following the lives of eight friends and the people they love.
The first two box sets can be downloaded for a limited time at a bargain price! Six books for 99 pennies! Read on for info on each individual instalment. Enjoy!
Box Set #1 . . .
Bad Friends
Lily is in denial about her relationship with Ian, a university lecturer who was sexy three years ago but has become progressively more boring. Her friends try to tell her what she already knows but it’s an illicit Christmas encounter that finally makes her see sense.
Is life about to get better, or will it only get worse?
The path to true love never runs smooth.
Bad Actor
Theo Richards is a very bad actor. He’s told lie after lie, kept secrets so deep and dark . . . and yet, his heart has always been in the right place.
The kind of love most people can only dream of is about to drop into his life. At the same time, his career is about to take off and everything is going to change.
Will he survive the rollercoaster, and does anyone ever really get everything they want?
Bad Wife
Susan has always known exactly what she wants and how to get it. So being told she can’t have something is very hard to take.
Now a year since Adam walked her down the aisle, things are becoming complicated.
They visit a fertility clinic for help once it becomes clear things might not happen naturally. The results are unexpected and send Adam into a tailspin.
Were his friends always right about her?
Or didn’t they give her enough of a chance?
Box Set #2 . . .
Bad Girl
Chloe is travelling around Australia with her boyfriend when she hears some unexpected news from home. Having spent two years dodging reality and living like a nomad, she decides it’s time to quit messing around and finally go after what she wants.
Leaving Cole behind, she heads home to figure out what her future holds – and why things never worked out with Adam.
As with most love stories, nothing is ever as it might first seem . . .
Bad Guys
Saskia is one cool customer, unreadable and off limits. She has her boundaries and lets everyone know so, just without telling them exactly why she has built up this huge wall of protection around herself.
Married men end up becoming a major factor in her love life, but is that a proactive choice, or just bad luck?
The man she finally falls in love with is a shocker . . . and perhaps she’ll end up becoming ostracized because of it.
Bad Lover
Anabel has known Susan since school but their friendship has been so intermittent, she’s always wondered why Susan sometimes disappears and then comes back.
After years of barely any contact, she’s shocked when Susan arrives in London with a story that doesn’t seem to add up.
Susan has been something of a mystery to Anabel all these years and it feels like she may be on the cusp of discovering just what drives her enigmatic friend.
Box Set #3 . . .
Bad Exes
Marie’s marriage is on the rocks. She and Ade haven’t been on the same page for quite a while and when she discovers her ex is single, she decides she has to see him.
Her relationship with Anthony was painful, complicated and passionate. She would have stayed with him forever if she’d had it her own way.
Now she has three kids. A career she loves. A husband who has been there for her, though they haven’t always shared the same connection she had with Anthony.
She will have a difficult choice to make, but there are truths in this story which reveal just how much Marie’s friends influenced her – for better and for worse.
Bad Night
Paul is alone in the world but feels safer this way, with no responsibilities, no temptations. He’s working towards a goal: to get out of the country and never come back.
Then Tom shows up unexpectedly and what starts out as two friends catching up quickly becomes a nightmare.
Evil strikes . . . and one of the friends will lose their life.
Bad Endings
Three love stories round off the epic saga . . .
They say it’s rare that people meet in school, marry AND stay together.
Well, it’s true. Only one couple who met in school and married will stay together in this story.
As the tale draws to a close, everything comes out. Scores will be settled. Truths will be unmasked. No question will go unanswered.
Even if they go their separate ways, it’s clear they will always carry with them the impact they have had on one another.
They’ve influenced each other’s lives, left marks in some cases . . . burned bridges in others.
In the end, they will lament the loss of all they shared.
It’s strange that, for a few months now, I have been writing a new series of books in secret. . . with the intention of releasing them all at once. Now feels like no better time to release it! If you’re on lockdown or self-isolating, you can read this brand-new series at a bargain.
The Bad Series is an epic series of 6+ books (TBC) and charts the lives and loves of a massive friendship group whose lives intertwine. The actions of one often cause many pain, and vice versa. This is a series of epic character building and friendships that have lasted the test of time. While reading you may wonder if these people are actually real. . . but my intention with these books is certainly to give you a healthy dose of drama and twists and turns!
Bad Friends is where you need to start and she’s FREE today only! Scroll for more details…
Bad Friends
A brand-new series of interconnected stories . . .
Lily is in denial about her relationship with Ian, a university lecturer who was sexy three years ago but has become progressively more boring. Her friends try to tell her what she already knows but it’s an illicit Christmas encounter that finally makes her see sense.
Is life about to get better, or will it only get worse?
The path to true love never runs smooth.
AUTHOR NOTE:
The Bad Series saga charts the lives and loves of a group of friends hailing from Yorkshire, England. Their experiences take them all over the world and each character has a BIG story to tell. Sit back, enjoy the ride, and binge until your heart is content!
Theo Richards is a very bad actor. He’s told lie after lie, kept secrets so deep and dark . . . and yet, his heart has always been in the right place.
The kind of love most people can only dream of is about to drop into his life. At the same time, his career is about to take off and everything is going to change.
Will he survive the rollercoaster, and does anyone ever really get everything they want?
Download Theo’s story for 99p or read free in Kindle Unlimited here
Bad Wife
Susan has always known exactly what she wants and how to get it. So being told she can’t have something is very hard to take.
Now a year since Adam walked her down the aisle, things are becoming complicated.
They visit a fertility clinic for help once it becomes clear things might not happen naturally. The results are unexpected and send Adam into a tailspin.
Were his friends always right about her?
Or didn’t they give her enough of a chance?
Download Adam and Susan’s tale for 99p or read free in Kindle Unlimited here
Bad Girl
SPECIAL PRE-ORDER PRICE!
Chloe is travelling around Australia with her boyfriend when she hears some unexpected news from home. Having spent two years dodging reality and living like a nomad, she decides it’s time to quit messing around and finally go after what she wants.
Leaving Cole behind, she heads home to figure out what her future holds – and why things never worked out with Adam.
As with most love stories, nothing is ever as it might first seem . . .
Pre-order Chloe’s story for 99p here – releasing in TWO WEEKS!
I loved every minute of this book; I also may have throttled the author a few times in my mind as I read this story. Her writing skills are outstanding!
Alison Parkins Book Reviews
Blurb
“Survival makes animals of us, Ruben. Animals.”
Ruben and Freya have been friends for two years and still don’t know one another very well. Whenever they meet up for a drink, sex with other people is something they openly discuss, but fooling around with each other is out of the question.
Then right out of the blue, everything changes. Freya can’t stand to have him in her life anymore and Ruben is shocked into action, forced to confess his true feelings.
Endless nights of pure, unbridled passion between two people seemingly destined to be together follow. Freya and Ruben are equally closed books, but as their passion unfolds, so do the pages of their chequered pasts.
There is however, one secret so dark and devastating, it could wreck their lives. As their pasts converge, kismet will play a big part in whether they survive or die.
Available to read for free if you’re a KU subscriber!
Kismet will release on November 26th, 2019 and here are all the details…
BLURB:
“Survival makes animals of us, Ruben. Animals.”
Ruben and Freya have been friends for two years and still don’t know one another very well. Whenever they meet up for a drink, sex with other people is something they openly discuss, but fooling around with each other is out of the question.
Then right out of the blue, everything changes. Freya can’t stand to have him in her life anymore and Ruben is shocked into action, forced to confess his true feelings.
Endless nights of pure, unbridled passion between two people seemingly destined to be together follow. Freya and Ruben are equally closed books, but as their passion unfolds, so do the pages of their chequered pasts.
There is however, one secret so dark and devastating, it could wreck their lives. As their pasts converge, kismet will play a big part in whether they survive or die.
BLOGGERS sign up here to receive your advance review copy: CLICK ME
I remember six years ago, while we were driving up to Scotland and navigating our way around several lochs and mountains, I had my phone in my hand and I was staring at this cover I’d found on a premade site – wondering if it would be a fitting cover for A Fine Profession. A lady dressed in red lingerie just seemed to fit and that image became synonymous with Lottie. When we got home from that trip, buying that cover was the first thing I did. 20+ novels later, it does and it doesn’t feel like a long time ago.
However, there comes a time when you realise a book cannot be defined by just one image – and maybe it’s time to change it up. Not only do I find it particularly hard to source covers for all my books (being they are pretty complex novels and I could never give an insight into my stories with just one picture), but sourcing a new cover for Lottie has been a total headache because, as I say, people have come to me at book signings and bought that book with the words, “Love this cover!” Also, Lottie was my first romance novel so there’s a lot of history attached. Plus, A Fine Pursuithad grown men crying, so I can’t wish for more than that! LOL.
Rather than dwell on the old, let’s focus on the new. I have two new covers for the Chambermaid duet which I really love and do suit this series to a T. I love this series because of the way people reacted to it, but also because Lottie required me to flex my writing muscles and I don’t think I’ve written such a hard-hitting book since.
Please take time to enjoy these new babies, and hopefully purchase the new paperbacks which have been reformatted, resized and with completely new wraparound covers – available on Amazon very soon! The Chambermaid has come a long way in six years!
Sarah Michelle Lynch 