My new blurb!
I've been busy! I have started to scan Children of the Shaman and edit it in preparation to publishing it as an eBook.
Trying to market Malarat continues. I've been following several blogs, The Creative Penn, Jane Friedman and David Gaughran. All are excellent and stuffed with nuggets of interesting information. I also follow Duolit and am a fan of Writer Beware!
At the moment, my head is spinning slightly. But I am following the advice of the various bloggers, and have edited the blurb for my book, and updated my web-site, shamansland.
Here is the new version of the blurb as it appears on Amazon:
In a couple of places, I have also added the following rubric:
Now to me, this looks faintly ludicrous. I'm worried that it will put some people off, while attracting others who will want their money back when there isn't enough (ahem) explicit sex. The idea of putting in a health-warning is alien to me, but I feel I have to do it since my first two books were sometimes read as YA fiction and even appeared in school libraries.
This probably isn't a YA book and it certainly isn't for children. It's quite dark in places, which reflects the period of my life in which it was written.
The one thing that still worries me is the cover. Not because it's poor quality, but because it doesn't much resemble other books in the fantasy genre.
I should add that I took the book down from Smashwords and have now released it with Lulu and Google Books. The latter offer a very good preview.
I'm also giving away a 100 copies free on Librarything for a limited time only - a week starting 4th July (Happy Independence Day to the US!)in exchange for reviews. I am eager to get more reviews, whether good or bad. I don't think it has started yet, as Librarything is based in the US. Link here: Librarything Member Giveaways
Trying to market Malarat continues. I've been following several blogs, The Creative Penn, Jane Friedman and David Gaughran. All are excellent and stuffed with nuggets of interesting information. I also follow Duolit and am a fan of Writer Beware!
At the moment, my head is spinning slightly. But I am following the advice of the various bloggers, and have edited the blurb for my book, and updated my web-site, shamansland.
Here is the new version of the blurb as it appears on Amazon:
To be a shaman is to be both a healer and a warrior, and to visit the lands of the Dead.
Since she was a child, Annat Vasilyevich has had a foot in both worlds, learning her craft as apprentice to her father, the powerful Yuda Vasilyevich.
Now war has come to Lefranu, her native land, and her family is torn apart by a conflict that threatens their whole world.
Annat finds herself far from home, defending the city of Yonar against a mediaeval army. Her brother is a fugitive from justice, and Yuda, heading deep into enemy territory with his apprentice, Huldis of Ademar, finds himself hunted by the most deadly of enemies: the Domini Canes, knights of the Inquisition, armed with their new weapon – the Spider.
When it seems that only a miracle can save Lefranu, it is Annat herself who must enter the underworld to raise the dead.
In a couple of places, I have also added the following rubric:
Malarat is the third book in the series that started with Children of the Shaman, but can easily be read on its own.
It is a much darker work than my other books, with some strong language, and scenes of graphic violence and explicit sex.
Now to me, this looks faintly ludicrous. I'm worried that it will put some people off, while attracting others who will want their money back when there isn't enough (ahem) explicit sex. The idea of putting in a health-warning is alien to me, but I feel I have to do it since my first two books were sometimes read as YA fiction and even appeared in school libraries.
This probably isn't a YA book and it certainly isn't for children. It's quite dark in places, which reflects the period of my life in which it was written.
The one thing that still worries me is the cover. Not because it's poor quality, but because it doesn't much resemble other books in the fantasy genre.
I should add that I took the book down from Smashwords and have now released it with Lulu and Google Books. The latter offer a very good preview.
I'm also giving away a 100 copies free on Librarything for a limited time only - a week starting 4th July (Happy Independence Day to the US!)in exchange for reviews. I am eager to get more reviews, whether good or bad. I don't think it has started yet, as Librarything is based in the US. Link here: Librarything Member Giveaways
I think you are quite right to worry that if you leave that 'health warning' on people will want their money back when there isn't enough sex and violence. Especially since Game of Thrones raised the bar for that sort of thing. Instead, just say something along the lines that previous books in the series were popular with young readers but this one contains more adult themes. The phrase 'adult themes' is the standard BBC euphemism for sex and violence.
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