Tag Archives: indie

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

A story for the hopeless romantics out there (grab a free preview)

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Everyone knows I like my stories with a bit of grit and darkness. I can’t help it. Give me a heroine with a dodgy background she’s trying to escape from and I’m happy as Larry.

At the same time, 2017 hasn’t exactly been a stellar year. Just following the news is enough to give you a nervous breakdown. So, for Christmas, I thought I would make a change from my usual MO and go for a gentler option. Happily Ever After This Christmas is set in the English Cotswolds, at the independent bookstore owned by Kayleigh Johnson. A woman who is getting on just fine (or so she thinks), until Jo Pearmain walks through her door.

It’s not that Jo intends to completely destroy the other woman’s Christmas, it just sort of happens. It’s not really her fault, but the more she tries to fix things, the more determined Kayleigh becomes to not let her.

With the countdown on until Christmas Eve, will Jo finally be able to convince Kayleigh to forgive her? If she can, then she might also be able to convince her that together, they could become something wonderful.

I’ll be sending my mailing list a free sample chapter later this week, so if you want to check it out before it’s available for sale, then click this link to sign up.

October Roundup: New Books! Free Books!

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After far too long, the next 2 books in the Lazarus Hunter series are complete!

To celebrate, there’s a promo offer on all of them right now.

Blood Inheritance – Free until October 29th

Black Market Blood (book 2) and Shadows of Blood (book 3) are both on a limited 0.99 offer until 8th November 2017.

That means you can get all three books for only 1.98 if you buy them before October 29th.*

*price applies to most Amazon marketplaces

 

I absolutely love writing this series, even if it was horribly delayed because there was a sticky plot point in Black Market Blood that has taken two years for me to fix in a way I was happy with. After some much needed rest, I’ll begin the edits to book four in December – I’m already looking forward to it.

I really hope you enjoy them and if you do, then please leave a review. Not only do I appreciate it, Amazon uses it to help other readers find my books.

For those of you who enjoy my C.K. Martin books, never fear! I have a heartwarming Christmas romance coming out at the beginning of December. More details heading your way soon!

 

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!

Writing, romance and sunshine

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It’s been a busy two weeks here in the sunshine. I’m almost starting to think you can have to much of a good thing. But a plan is coming together and I’m really excited for what the next few months will bring.

Creative – new ideas and first drafts

In a fit of inspiration, I’ve put together the first skeletal outline of a lesbian romance that I think will make the final cut for 2018. It’s a standalone, standard romance rather than anything of the urban fantasy, hot leather variety, so fits in neatly with the rest of my plans.

My summer romance for 2017 (title coming soon) completed the first draft and passed the alpha reader tests. The main criticism was that the sex came too quickly. I’m trying not to take that as some kind of personal judgement…

Editing – the slow, tortuous road to publication

With the first feedback, I’ve begun the editing process and as always, it’s not quite as bad as I feared. As a writer, there is always a sense of doubt with each book that when you read it back it will be utter rubbish. Don’t get me wrong, this is far from perfect. But it does at least make sense, rather than being 200 pages of random words and punctuation.

Publishing – and all the other bits that go on behind the scenes

With the shift towards fiction, I’ve had more time to manage my existing books. Previously available as ebook on Kindle only, I’ve been working on updates that will make the shift towards paperback. My new summer romance will be the start of dual ebook and paperback releases going forwards and my entire back catalogue will also be available by the beginning of June.

I’ve been also considering the move away from Kindle only and into other ebook retailers. However, I have a huge number of Kindle Unlimited readers and I know I could lose them in the move over to non-exclusive ebook territory. So that is on hold, pending review later in the year. I’d be interested to hear what anyone else thinks though.

Planning and dreaming – what’s coming up in the next few weeks

A lot of details will be finalised over the next few weeks and this is one of the most nail-biting yet fun parts of being an author. The title will be set in stone, the cover finalised and the editors will be hard at work on the final copy. Once those decisions are made and available to share, I always feel the transition from idea to a real book begins.

Then it will be off to reviewers and the nerves can really kick in!

Wishing you all a fabulous, fiction-filled weekend!