Tag Archives: amazon kindle

Personal update and some free book info

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Since my wife and I welcomed a baby into our family earlier in 2018, I’ve given myself permission to not do any writing. A sort of maternity leave, if you will, although anyone who understands the desire to write knows that it’s not a job in the usual way. Sure, the publishing side of things is very much an actual job, but the itch to tell a story is something else.

I intend to return to writing full time in 2019, but am already putting a cautious toe back in the water to remember what it’s like to sit at the laptop and try to find the right words. To invest in fictional characters, rather than focus on the real tiny human who needs me so much.

With Halloween already upon us, vampires are the order of the day. All the books in my Lazarus Hunter series will be either free or on sale this week*. A welcome back to myself.

Blood Inheritance – Free until 2nd October.

Black Market Blood (book 2) and Shadows of Blood (book 3) are both on a time-limited 0.99 offer.

*price applies to most Amazon marketplaces

Although this series has never been the main focus of my writing, I absolutely love it. This was the story I wanted to tell for me, back when Buffy ended its TV run and there was nothing else to take its place. I’m not sure there ever will be, but for now, I’m happy to create my own little world that will, in theory, reach seven books someday!

Get ready for summer with some free books!

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Summer is on the way and I’m more than ready to celebrate the good weather. What better way than by chilling with a cocktail (or in my case a new baby) and a good book. With that in mind, I’ve picked two of kindle ebooks to be available for free as part of the I heart Lesfic Mega Sale, running May 21st-25th.

 

The first, Dirty Little War is one of my favourites. If you’re a Kindle Unlimited member you can read it for free now, without having to wait for the sale to start. Many readers wanted to know what happens next, so I’ve written a follow on short story that you can get here: Evie and Carmen, the final chapter.

 

The second, Tapas and Tangelos will also be free May 21st-25th in kindle stores globally. Set in a sleepy Spanish town where lovers meet, it’s the perfect summer beach read.

 

That’s my little break from baby life to author life done. Even if you’ve already read my books, head on over to the I heart Lesfic site and grab yourself a good book at an amazing price.

Looking ahead to 2018

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2017 was a strange year for me, with a fair few ups and downs. I’m looking forward to doing things a bit differently over the next 12 months. I want to write more, connect with my readers more and spend less time getting pointlessly angry at social media. So what’s upcoming?

Lesbian fiction

Tis not quite the season any more, but if you’re desperate to hold onto the time when snow meant good things rather than a pain in the ass commute to work, then Happily Ever After This Christmas might be a lighthearted way of keeping the memory alive. I had great fun writing this and it was one of my high points of last year.

I’m working on a lesbian divorce story and honestly, I’m not sure how well it will go down. It’s not a comfortable read, but I think it’s an honest portrayal of many relationships. The one thing I have learned from 2017 is don’t publish something unless you’re absolutely sure. I’ll be thinking a bit longer on this one.

 

Lesbian Book Bingo

If you’ve been living under a rock, then you might not have heard about Jae’s Lesbian Book Bingo. It’s a fun way to read more of the books you love, branch out into some subgenres that you’ve never considered before and have the chance to win goodies along the way. Even though I’m probably not eligible for prizes as one of my books (Dirty Little War) is included, I’ll be playing along simply because it’s a great way to read more.

Check out the suggested reading list for January: Women In Uniform

 

Urban Fantasy

I have a (very) rough first draft of Book #4 in the Lazarus Hunter Series completed. There are still several subplots I want to interweave, but that’s not on my plan until March at the earliest. After the slowest of slow burns, things between Elizabeth and Monica reach boiling point.

Over the next few months I’ll be thinking about how to give back to fans of this series. Most likely it will be in the form of beta copies (where you’ll have chance to feedback and influence some plot points), free novellas and maybe some deleted scenes. If I move the series away from Kindle Unlimited, which is a definite possibility, then anyone on the reader team will get copies of the full series for free.

The planning is still in the early stages, but if you want to jump the queue and get involved then let me know at ckmartin.author@gmail.com, especially if you’ve already left a review on one of the books.

So that’s my rough plan for 2018. It’s staying flexible because I have some major personal life changes on the way and I refuse to beat myself up this year for things beyond my control!

Wishing you a happy, book-filled 2018!

Happily Ever After This Christmas (isn’t that what we all want?)

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With a little squee of delight (tinged with end of year exhaustion), I can say that my Christmas romance novel is published and finally available for purchase (or to read for free if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber).

Although I usually enjoy writing grittier, darker plots, it’s nice to have a break sometimes. With the state of the world in 2017, it’s nice to step away from reality for a little while. Picturesque English village setting? Check. An independent bookstore? Check. Misunderstandings and mistakes? Check. Best friends who are funny and quirky? Check. Festive cheer with mulled wine and minced pies? Check. Humour? Check. A few tearjerker moments? Check.

Basically, it’s light-hearted and fun. Isn’t that what Christmas is meant to be all about?

Official blurby stuff:

This Christmas, can she finally leave the past behind?

Each year, creating the magical Christmas display at Johnson’s Independent Bookstore gets Kayleigh Johnson through the holidays. Staying busy to the point of exhaustion, she avoids the harsh reality that she is spending another Christmas alone. But when an inspector from the local council arrives late one snowy afternoon, her carefully controlled world is turned upside down once more.

Jo Pearmain is determined to do things by the book. Being a health and safety officer is hardly her dream job, but it’s one she needs to keep. Little does she know that as she closes down the bookstore Christmas display, she is destroying the small sliver of hope and happiness Kayleigh has left.

When she realises what she’s done, Jo’s determined to put it right, but Kayleigh is slow to forgive. The harder she works to fix things, the further Kayleigh pushes her away.

Can Jo convince Kayleigh they must work together to save Christmas for the village? And if she can, they might even save each other…

Happily Ever After This Christmas is a heartwarming romance about overcoming adversity and rediscovering the miracle of Christmas.

Available now at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Why I’ve used a new pen name for an old book

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It has been absolute chaos, but I have finally completed the behind the scenes, messy task of disentangling Blood Inheritance from the author name C.K. Martin and moving it over to a new pen name, Cas Martin.

The great news is, now that the boring back-end stuff is done, I’m excited to be able to release books 2 and 3, Black Market Blood and Shadows of Blood.

Having two separate author names is a lot of effort, so why bother? Simply this: to make it easier for readers, even if it does make it harder for me.

Many of my books fall under the heading of lesbian fiction. Some are romance, some have a lesbian protagonist. For a significant number of readers, they have found my books because that is exactly what they want – a break from the heteronormative world that is 99% of publishing.*

My fantasy books won’t always give that. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re the kind of reader who only wants to read about straight white people, then you’re not going to get that either. I write my fantasy how I experience my world, and that is female and male, gay and straight, white and black. A messy walk through life, without clear-cut boundaries. If you enjoy all genres, then explore both by all means. I just wanted to make the branding visibly different.

In terms of social media, I’m not going to pretend that they’re two separate people. So my personal Facebook profile and twitter account will stay the same, but will reference both names. As will this website. Other things specifically book related, such as Amazon author pages, Facebook pages and (if I can get it to work properly) Goodreads will be separate to avoid posting things not of interest to the majority of readers.

So apologies if things are a bit messy for awhile. I would love it if you read all of my books, but if you’re looking for something specific, then this should help you get to the books you want. You can read the blurbs for all three on the Urban Fantasy page.

Quick Links:

Cas Martin’s Amazon Page / Facebook Page

C.K. Martin’s Amazon Page / Facebook Page

*not an actual statistic, but you get what I mean.

September Roundup: Promos and short story thoughts

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Current Promo (time limited offer)

Dirty Little War eBook – on sale for 0.99 September 28 – October 5.

If you enjoy this novel, don’t forget you can sign up to get a free follow on chapter by signing up here. It contains spoilers for the entire book, so don’t read it until you’ve finished!

You’ll get notified of any new releases, but that will be all (I hate spam).

 

 

Don’t forget, if you enjoy it, leave a review! 

In other news…

There’s been lots of travel this month, which is great for coming up with new ideas. I’ve got a few bubbling away, but I’m also looking forward to all the new season TV to get a feel for what is good out there right now (and to see if Supergirl can redeem itself).

I’ve got a second round of edits back for my standalone romance and also my Christmas romance, so that’s a nice stack of work in the queue. Add that to my plans to relaunch the Lazarus Hunter series in October and the final quarter of the year looks to be as busy as the first. I’m really excited about all these books though, so I can’t wait to share them with you.

Short stories have been on my mind a lot lately. I don’t know many people who read short stories in the lesbian fiction genre unless they are free. From conversations with friends, even those readers with a Kindle Unlimited subscription prefer to get something longer (and therefore of perceived better value) than a quick read. I’m conscious that my sample size is small, so if you have any strong feelings, then comment below and it might change the direction of some of my plans for 2018.

 

Don’t forget, if you want to take advantage of the promo, make sure to click on the links above before it expires!

August Roundup: Free book promotion and other news

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Current Promos (time limited offers)

 

 

Recapture the summer with Tapas and Tangelos –  a romantic beach read set in a sleepy European town. Read for free between September 2-6.

 

 

The second book in the Detective Teddie McKay series, A Taste To Die For is on offer for only 0.99 between September 9 – 16. You can also pick up the first in the series, The Crochet Killer for the same price too.

 

 

 

Don’t forget, if you enjoy them, leave a review! 

In other news…

August 2017 will forever be known as the month of the great edit. Nearly all my time has been focused on The Lazarus Hunter series, which will be republished under a different name a little later in the year. It makes sense to separate this out from my lesbian fiction, even though it won’t be easy. In the long term, it will be better for everyone to keep them separate. Of course, if you are primarily a fan of that series, I’ll be providing ways for you to find it and get your hands on the next books in the series.

Another standalone romance is in the editing queue and my Christmas romance is also coming round for its next stage of edits. So with that many plates spinning, I have been quiet on social media. That looks likely to continue into September (when I throw some travel into the mix as well, just to stay on my toes) but by the time autumn rolls around, I hope to be writing some new things rather than just editing existing manuscripts.

Now, back to work!

Don’t forget, if you want to take advantage of the promos, make sure to click on the links above before they expire!

July Roundup: Current promotions, free short story and WIPs

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Current Promos (time limited offers)

Dirty Little War eBook – on sale for 0.99 only until July 29.

If you enjoy this novel, don’t forget you can sign up to get a free follow on chapter by signing up here. It contains spoilers for the entire novel, so don’t read it until you’ve finished the book!

You’ll get notified of any new releases, but that will be all (I hate spam).

 

The Crochet Killer – You can get the eBook for FREE between July 29 – August 2.

And if you enjoy Detective Teddie McKay, then the second book in the series, A Taste To Die For is on offer for only 0.99 between July 29 – August 5

Don’t forget, if you enjoy them, leave a review! 

In other news…

July has been a strange month. I have done lots of work, but it doesn’t feel like work. That might sound like a nice perk, but when you are a hyper-focused completer-finisher like me, the guilt starts to set in. I end up feeling like I’ve not done anything at all.

Another thing with writing is that sometimes, despite your original intentions and ideas, some stories just don’t work. It can be a labour of love to write an entire novel length work. Putting it aside and letting it go doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t matter how many books you’ve completed, it happens. So take heart newbie writers out there. The key is just to pick yourself back up and keep going.

The main focus for August will be whipping the second book of the Lazarus Hunter series into shape. This has been sitting languishing for some time, but like the new novel mentioned above, there was something not quite right about it. It’s taken me literally years to work out what that is, but now that I have, I can finally make progress. This is really exciting for me as books three and four are already written and have been waiting until this one got its act together.

However, with that comes the decision of whether or not to unpublish the first book and republish the series under a different name. As much as I love the book and it does contain some slashy, subtexty goodness, I understand that those who have come to my writing via lesbian fiction might be confused by a book that doesn’t fit that genre at all. I’ve tried to make it as clear as possible in the blurb, but there is always the chance of people reading a book they don’t expect. I haven’t made the full decision on this yet, but my gut feel is that it’s the right thing to do.

Don’t forget, if you want to take advantage of the promos, make sure to click on the links above before they expire!

It’s publication day! Tapas and Tangelos, a summer romance

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I’m so excited to be able to say that my latest lesbian romance novel, Tapas and Tangelos, is now available in both kindle ebook and paperback!

This was a huge amount of fun to write, mainly because of the many excuses to have adventures in the name of research. I’ve eaten copious amounts of Spanish food, visited cities, mountains and beaches, gone stargazing –  all in the name of making this book realistic. In total, I’ve spent about three months visiting Europe and bringing this story to life.

Unfortunately, it’s been a tough few weeks for me on a personal level, so the final stages of this have been a case of ‘the show must go on’. Nevertheless, I’ll always be sad I never got to share the outcome of this book with someone who had been so instrumental in giving me the confidence to publish my work.

Of course, the remaining two books scheduled for 2017 release are in various stages of completion, but today I get to just celebrate this one. If you’re looking for a lesbian romance that’s perfect for a summer beach read, with a little bit of mystery and intrigue, then check out the blurb below.

Thank you again to all the amazing readers who have supported me on this journey. Reviews are everything to an independent author, so if you enjoy this (or any of my other books) then please let the world know. I really do appreciate it.

Tapas and Tangelos

Hayley Jones has made peace with the fact she’ll always be alone. Instead of pining for love, she dedicates her time to running a locals bar in a quiet little Spanish town. Over the course of a decade, she has finally found a place to call home.

The night Kate Lanthorn arrives at the newly opened backpacker’s hostel, Hayley’s world is turned upside down. The attraction between them is immediate and intense. At Kate’s touch, the rules Hayley has made to protect herself are broken. For just one night, she allows herself to be the person she could have been in a different life.

Hayley insists it can never be more than a one night stand. A mistake they shouldn’t repeat, no matter how hard Kate tries to convince her otherwise. Hayley knows she should walk away. Even being ‘just friends’ is too dangerous. But her head and her heart aren’t playing the same game. The resolve she finds when she is alone in the darkness always dissolves when Kate walks through the door.

The more Kate pushes Hayley to venture out from the security of the bar, the closer she comes to discovering the reasons why Hayley left England years ago and refuses to return.

Will Hayley find the strength to walk away before it’s too late? Or will her past finally come back to haunt her and destroy everything she’s fought so hard for?

Tapas and Tangelos is a lesbian romance set in the heat and sunshine of Spain. A sizzling summer beach read filled with desire and intrigue.

Buy now or read for free with Kindle Unlimited: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

 

New Book Update, New Website and Time-Limited Offers

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It’s been a flurry of activity this week as we’ve been prepping for the release of my new lesbian summer romance (publish date 26th May 2017). For those of you already subscribed to the newsletter, you’ll be getting an email next week with a sneak peak of the cover and the back story to writing the book. If you haven’t signed up yet, follow the link on the sidebar over there (or click here).

 

As of today, my existing back catalogue will be available in paperback via Amazon. As much as everyone likes the convenience of an ebook, there are times when a good old-fashioned physical book is what you want. This has been on the project plan since the beginning of the year, so I’m glad they’re finally ready. Whoo-hoo!

To celebrate, I’ll be running some special promotions for the ebooks next week. Firstly, because it’s Mystery Week on Goodreads, The Crochet Killer will be free 1-5th May. As a bonus, the sequel, A Taste To Die For, will be too.

For those of you more into urban fantasy, Blood Inheritance will also be at a special sale price 1-7th May. For you lesbian romancers, Dirty Little War is up for grabs during this week too. The prices increase throughout the week and go back up to full price on Monday, so get them as soon as you can.

The website has been redesigned to put more emphasis on the books and less emphasis on my random blog updates. Those can still all be found below if you’re interested, but they’re no longer the focus of what I’ll be doing on the site. This page will now focus more directly on news than my general life activities.

We’ve put a lot of time and effort into standardising across all media. As an independent author, you learn a lot of things as you go along. I published my first book back in 2014 and had no idea really what I was doing, or if anyone would even read it. Since then, things have changed dramatically in the publishing space (although I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing most of the time) and things needed updating. With a new book out shortly, it felt like the right time to get things set up for the next year of book releases properly.

Thank you for your support and remember, if you enjoy a book, please leave a review!