Read The Hungry-Man for half-price!

On Wednesday, my Harvey- my bestest boy and eternal puppy- will be turning twelve!

I don't know where the years have gone... it feels like only a few months since I was teaching him to sit and shake his paw for treats, and having to lift him on the bed because his little legs were too short to jump up and snuggle with Mummy.

Back then, he was scruffy-looking bundle of fur, sometimes compared to Spit the Dog, who tried to make friends with cats and attack fireworks. Now he's a slightly larger bundle of differently-coloured fur who chases cats and runs away from fireworks!


Harvey aged 6 months

Naturally, I shall be spoiling him rotten on his birthday and feeding him sausages, but Harvey thought it might be a nice idea to share the joy by offering The Hungry-Man at half-price as part of his celebrations.

"What a good idea!" I told him. "You really are a very Clever Boy!"

(Yes, I do actually talk to Harvey. All the time. He's a wonderful listener).

So, that's what we're doing. From now until the weekend, The Hungry-Man will be on offer for only 99p as an ebook.

Harvey thinks you'll really like it but then, as the hero of this cracking tale of a plucky pup who battles unimaginable evil to save his beloved Mummy, he is slightly biased ; )

Halloween Special: Discounted ebook offer

 

Happy almost-Halloween!

 

For the next 48 hours, I'm giving you the chance to download Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions for only 99p. Just click the link and get stuck in! And tell your friends!

 

Enjoy my Strange Ideas...

 

Louise xxx

Happy New Year!

Well, what an interesting year 2013 was! Hang on- wait- or was that 2012? I'm losing track! Or maybe it's just that all my years are interesting? I certainly try!

Before the messy drinking begins, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me as I made the scary leap from aspiring writer to real one- whether it was spotting typos, suggesting names, fact-checking, or telling me everything there is to know about greyhounds. You're all awesome, and I'm sending you big hugs and lots of (virtual) cake.

Thank you too to all those who bought Late and the first of my Strange Ideas. I hope your 2014 surpasses your wildest dreams in terms of health, wealth, happiness and pretty things.

As for me, I have at least two books coming out in 2014, and I hope to have another go at public speaking where my leg doesn't shake so much I can't see the words to read aloud... I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Happy New Year! Make 2014 the year you Live What You Love.

Lou xxx

Freebies!

We all love a freebie, don't we?

I hate Mondays, so I thought I'd try to do something to make them a little better. Sooooo (drumroll) Late: a ghostly tale will be free to download every Monday for the next five weeks!

If you've already read it and enjoyed it, then please share this news with your friends and invite them to jump into my ghostly tale. Hopefully, they'll love it too.

Also, if you're inclined, you can recommend me for the Guardian series on indie authors by clicking here and filling in the short, simple form.

Enjoy your Sunday and pop back tomorrow to read my school report...

Friday Five: Five details that never made the book.

Happy Friday!

Only seventeen days to go until Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions is released, and I've been poring over the proof, making sure everything is perfect for you.

It's been lovely to read the proof as a book, rather than edit it (although I have spotted and corrected a few clunkers) but one thing that struck me was how much of the story is not actually on the page.

J.K. Rowling famously wrote detailed and elaborate back-stories for all her characters, and so did I- although not in as much detail, obviously. These are short (ish) stories, after all! But, for my Friday Five this week, I'd like to share a few details with you. These won't make one jot of sense until Monday 27th May, but here you go.

Late: a ghostly tale gets a makeover

Me and my big mouth...

 

As usual, I've gone off half-cocked and failed to think things through properly before doing them- (insert own typical Taurean bull-in-a-china-shop metaphor here)- although, I must say, impulsive decisions do seem to work out quite well for me, and my fragile heart has been truly touched by the support from my friends and family, yet again.

WIP Wednesday- Late: a ghostly tale released in paperback.

Available on Amazon

Hi guys!

In preparation for publishing Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions, I decided this week to have a test run with the already-available-on-Kindle-and-doing-very-nicely-thank-you-very-much-for-asking Late: a ghostly tale. It was an interesting experience...

Stamp- the final installment

Happy Wednesday! Or not, depending on how attached you've become to Ben. Today will be the last installment of Stamp on this blog. But don't cry into your cocoa yet! I have good news too!

Special Announcement!

Just a quick one to let you know that Late: a ghostly tale will be FREE on Wednesday 6th March and Thursday 7th March to celebrate World Book Day. If you haven't already checked it out, now's your chance!

Simply search for it on Amazon (or follow the links at the top of this page) to download it for free. Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle: there are links on the Amazon website where you can download free Kindle apps to your phone or PC in order to read eBooks. No one need miss out! I'm sure I won't be the only one spotting the opportunity to promote their book by offering it for free to hungry readers- so go grab yourself some free reads!

If you have already read (and enjoyed) Late, then tell your friends so they can read it too. (subliminal cake)

Strange Ideas: Death, Destiny and Decisions is on track for release in eBook and paperback in June, and will feature an extended version of Late that follows our heroine as she races home... or tries to. I promise, all your questions will be answered and thank you to everyone who contributed ideas.

That's it for now. Happy reading!

Stamp- part ten

Happy Hump-Day! I hope you're having a marvellous week so far! I've been settling in to my new job and playing hostess to some Young Americans- exciting stuff! But enough about my life- you're here to find out all about the latest twist in Ben's. It's getting good!

 

The tension is really getting to poor Ben- will Tim's numbers come up? Or has it all been wishful thinking? Hurry up and meet them in the pub- it's Tim's round (and that rarely happens).

Stamp- part Nine

Happy Wednesday everyone! After the excitement of The Next Big Thing I'm back on schedule with Stamp- sorry I made you wait two whole weeks for this!

 

So, Ben has finally put two and two together and come with Tim's lottery numbers. Is his hunch right? He doesn't have long before he finds out! Read on to find out what happens next...

The Next Big Thing: Strange Ideas

I've got a very special WIP Wednesday for you this week, and I'm squeeely excited to be part of this- The Next Big Thing blog tag. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this idea, it's a way for authors to share and promote their books by "tagging" each other and answering 10 questions about our next book or work in progress.  At the end of January, I was tagged by Gloria Piper, author of Finnegan's Quest: a metaphorical fantasy that pokes fun at life’s foibles—political, religious, and social. You can look her up at http://gloriapiper.wordpress.com/

And now... drum-roll...

Stamp- part eight

Why, hello there, lovely readers! I hope your week is going well so far, and that you enjoyed my part of the 7 Line Challenge. This blog-hop business is rather exciting, isn't it? Read all the way to the bottom of this post to discover what I have planned for you next week- it's very special (and a little delayed).

 

Onto this week's chapter of Stamp. I know I made you wait a week (sorry, Mary- your complaint has been noted) but, unfortunately, I think this next part will have you climbing the walls to find out what happens next too. Feel free to bribe me with cake and I'll email you the next chapter. I'm not kidding. (Mary, you know the cake I like).

7 Line Challenge

Many thanks (and cake) to Victoria Pearson for tagging me into this blog-hop thingy. I've never done one of these before and I'm guessing a few people out there will never have seen one before, so, for the uninitiated- here's the deal.

I'm about to post seven lines from page seven of my work in progress... "The Hungry-Man" (squee!). Exciting stuff! BUT then I will tag seven other writers who will, in turn, do the same on their blogs. I suggest you click on the links and check them out.

OK- here goes!

Stamp- part seven

Hello again and welcome to my Wednesday WIP.

I've been busy editing "Stamp" and working on "A Flip of the Coin" this week, in between schoolwork, snow-sculpting and car trouble. For once, I've set myself a deadline that I might actually keep in finishing my short story collection by the end of March. All but one story is drafted, and I'm making good use of my wonderful beta-readers to keep on top of edits and improvements. I'm feeling very organised, which is a bad sign. Plate-spinning is not normally my strength but maybe this old dog (easy now) is learning a few new tricks after all!


Anyway, enough about me. I know why you're here today. You want to find out what happens next, right? You've read about Ben and his fall-out with Tim, and you're wondering if they'll ever be friends again, and how Ben's life is working out post-Cassie. Most of all, you're wondering what the stamp is for... read on for another piece of the puzzle.

Stamp- part six

Hey, it's Wednesday! How is your week going so far? Poor old Ben is not doing very well: Cassie's gone, his boss is on his back and, to top it all, he has a mysterious stamp on his hand that stubbornly refuses to wash off. Surely things can only get better? Read on to find out..

Stamp- part five

Wednesday again! I love Wednesdays- it feels like we're over the hump of the week and ready for an easy slide down towards the weekend. It's also WIP Wednesday day. I look forward to it, and I know some of you do too. I shan't keep you waiting and, if you've read this far already, you know where to look to refresh your memory so I'll just include a link to the last installment. Remember, I value your feedback on this so please do post comments and tell me what you think.

It's the End of the World as we know it...

... and I feel fine. 

I think people have got the Mayans all wrong. However, never one to miss an opportunity, I'm giving you all a (last) chance to download Late: a ghostly tale for FREE. Might as well enjoy our last few hours on Earth.

Click on the link on the right-hand side of the page (the one with the gorgeous new cover- even if you download it again, it'll update so you get this version) to be zapped straight to the Amazon page. Remember, you don't need a Kindle to read it- free apps are available on smartphones and even on your PC. No excuses then. I recommend you enjoy my offering in front of a roaring log fire with something alcoholic in your glass...preferably chilled... (see what I did there?)

See you on the other side. Or at Tesco. Whatever.

Stamp- part four

Well, hello! This is becoming a bit of a regular thing, isn't it? I'm not complaining- I quite like getting stopped on the street to be grilled about Cassie's disappearing act and Ben's mysterious stamp. Makes me feel needed. 

Here's the next installment of Stamp for your perusal. Let me know if you get bored and I'll stop posting them. Alternatively, beg me for more and I'll happily oblige. Enjoy x

By popular request- Stamp part three

Tuesday already! Doesn't time fly? Especially when Christmas is racing towards us and I haven't started my shopping... Hey ho. I am well-skilled in the subtle arts of procrastination, so I'm not worried yet. People love presents from garage forecourts, right? Oh. Maybe I'd better get on with it.

Anyway, I've been a bit preoccupied with editing the first of five (possibly) short stories for my new collection- no book title yet- suggestions appreciated- and I've been getting requests from people who are dying to know what happens next between Ben and Cassie. Who is she? Where did she come from? Is this love? Or something else? I've caved, so here is a bit more. Let me know what you think.