'Captured', Book 3 in the 'Serenity' Series is Now Available to Buy!

Wow! What an exciting 24 hours it has been! Yesterday saw the release of the third novel in my dark vampire 'Serenity' series and within the day the book hit the top 100 for fantasy on Amazon in both the States and the UK.

On top of that, the first book in the series, 'Alone', is currently offered for free and is sitting firmly in the number one spot on Amazon for free contemporary fantasy!

This whole thing has just been such an adventure and I can hardly believe that this is just the start. Though I was first published in 2009, it was only when I began releasing books myself that anything started happening. I'm currently only a year into this 'indie author' course of my career and I can't wait to discover what the next year will bring. I'm literally hearing from readers every day now, telling me how much they love my books. Nothing feels better than that.

'Captured' is my fourth published novel, but I still have plenty more to come! I have three completed manuscripts waiting patiently in my laptop. One of which, 'Underlife' is my personal favourite and I hope to have out in August. I could get the book out sooner, but I want to take a break from the editing for a while. I'm planning on writing my Young Adult spin-off over the summer and then I'll start editing again!

I've also made the decision of employing the services of the lovely Danielle at Philia Book Tours to help me do the one thing I'm terrible at in this business - scheduling guest blogs! She is going to be setting up blog posts for me each month so I hope she'll keep me in line. If I've got a deadline for anything, I'll always get it done, but if it's a case of 'I can do some writing or I can start contacting people to see if they'll have me on their blog' you can bet I'll chose the writing every time! Danielle is an absolute necessity for me if I'm going to start having a presence in the blogging world.

So don't forget, if you have not tried the series yet, you can read book one, 'Alone', for free at many different book sites, including Amazon. And, for the first week only, 'Captured' will be offered at only $0.99, so if you're thinking of working your way through the books, now is a good time to buy. Just click here to go through to Amazon!

Catch you all later. I'm off to plan book four!

Day Eleven of Creepfest! Beautiful Freaks with Katie John

We're up to day eleven of Creepfest, so there is only one more day to go! I hope everyone has enjoyed the hop! Today I'd like to welcome Katie. M John, UK bestselling YA author. 

Katie's Contemporary Arthurian legend series, 'The Knight Trilogy' was launched in December 2010 with the release of 'The Forest of Adventures' and the subsequent release of 'Immortal Beloved' in 2011. Both books have been in the UK top 10 Amazon charts for Contemporary Fantasy and Fairytales. The final book 'Starfire' is due for release in April 2012.

She is currently working on a stand alone YA novel called 'Beautiful Freaks', a steampunk, Victorian - detective fairytale,  which is due for release in January 2012. She's kindly sharing the first chapter with us today!

Chapter One: London 1899

BOTH the century and its Queen were dying. The winds of change rattled through the streets of the metropolis, leaving its citizens fearful of the coming times. Uncertainty bred suspicion, causing the people to turn to the old ways. Mystics and fortune tellers swarmed out of the city mists, filling the billboard at the now sober dancehalls: Nobody felt like dancing anymore. Gypsies hawked silver charms and lucky heather, and iron-faced preacher-men stood at every corner shouting warnings of damnation. It was a grey world, full of shadows.

The city was a landscape of monsters, both of flesh and brick. Chimneys from a thousand slave factories belched out black smoke; stealing the breath from the lungs and the light from the sky. Workhouses swallowed the poor, asylums the insane. It was amongst this labyrinth of sorrow that Kaspian Blackthorne walked.

He was approaching his eighteenth birthday, although he felt he had been an adult for most of his life. His patron, Doctor Heartlock, was making arrangements for a small private engagement in celebration of the boy’s coming of age. It would be an interesting evening, although not a very exciting one.

 Heartlock was a paranormal investigator – had been a paranormal investigator –he was now mostly housebound. For the past three years, the doctor had been confined to a wheelchair, following a serious accident whilst in pursuit of a notorious serial-killer. That was the official story: In truth the doctor had broken his back falling from the roof of a church in pursuit of a werewolf.

 Doctor Heartlock had once been a fascinating man to a younger Kaspian, but now his fantastical tales had faded into the sad ramblings of the regretful. The lines between reality and fantasy increasingly blurred to the point Kaspian worried the old man was losing his genius mind.

Heartlock had been a good patron, although perhaps a little lacking in an understanding of childhood. As such Kaspian’s nursery had been a study, his playthings, strange scientific apparatus, and his childhood stories great leather-bound texts on religion and the supernatural. It sometimes seemed Heartlock was set on raising a protégé to carry on his life’s work rather than a young man. As a result, although Kaspian’s upbringing hadn’t been cruel, it had been serious; and although showered in fondness and attention, it had lacked love.

Kaspian pondered his eighteen years as he walked through the evening gloom of the London streets. The rain had forced most people inside, creating the impression that the great metropolis had turned into a ghost town. Kaspian liked walking at times like this. It made him feel as if he were walking through his own silent empire.

Then he saw her.

She was standing under the streetlight, a newspaper held out in front of her as if she were reading it. Kaspian thought it obvious that she wasn’t; she was watching the church on the other side of the cobbled street. He stopped midstride and pulled himself behind a tree; spied on her as she took a pocket-watch from her pocket and flip open the lid. He thought it strange she should read it by placing flat in front of her eyes rather than looking down on it – it was as if she were taking a reading from a compass. Kaspian looked over to where she was watching. The church was empty and he couldn’t fathom what could possibly be of interest. The lights were out, the door locked, and the whole place had the impression of sleeping.

The woman was tall and slender; striking in a slightly over-powerful way. Despite wearing a full, black silk skirt, the fitted waistcoat and black necktie were more manish in dress than ladylike. Kaspian had never seen a woman like her, although he had heard of ‘her sort’ as Heartlock’s companions would say.

When he looked closer, he could see she wore a monocle in her left eye and was at least ten years younger than he’d guessed from the first impression: twenty one was the age he now settled on in his mind.

She must have sensed him looking at her because she turned towards him and, seeing him poking out from behind a tree, smiled. It was a strange reaction to the discovery that someone was spying on you. The boldness of her action unsettled Kaspian in a way he couldn’t quite understand. He bent down, pretending that he had been about to tie his shoelaces. When he was sure she had returned to her own secret observations, he scuttled past her and almost ran all the way to the safety of home.

 By the time he pushed open the imposing, black front door, Kaspian carried the strangest sense that something deep within him had changed, and things would never be quite as before.

“Good evening, Kaspian,” Heartlock said, greeting the boy in the hallway. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, Sir,” he answered, dropping the small pile of string-tied books onto the hall table.

“Did you manage to get all I requested?”

“Yes, all of them apart from the Valentine book. Mr. Foxglove said he was sure he would have it by the end of the month.”

Mr. Foxglove was one of Heartlock’s oldest acquaintances. He ran a bookshop situated in one of Soho’s shadier alleyways. The sign above the door read,‘Rare and Precious Books’ which made it sound almost respectable. In truth, the great leather bound books of poetry and Shakespeare folios were a front for the back room; the place that held real interest for its rather darker clientele.

Although a small narrow front, the shop had a seemingly endless body, giving you the unnerving impression that you were being swallowed by a giant snake. Right at its tail was the occult section. Not only did Mr. Foxglove vendor occult books, but there were also shelves of other strange and curious objects that might appeal to the amateur alchemist or necromancer; glass jars of preserved reptiles, grinning skulls and black candles were amongst some of the more identifiable items.

Kaspian had visited Foxglove’s shop since being a small boy, and he was no longer quite so impressed by its spooky appearance or its owner. Before Doctor Heartlock had had his accident, they had always visited together. When he was little, Kaspian would search out his guardian’s hand and grip it tightly; afraid that the strange Mr. Foxglove might kidnap him and cook him for supper.

Mr. Foxglove had always been ancient; and so paradoxically didn’t seem to age anymore. He wore a glass-eye in his left socket, but as he’d shrunk with age, it had become too big for the socket and now bulged, giving the impression that the eye belonged more to an insect than a man. Even now Kaspian constantly had to remind himself not to be rude and stare at it because he found it totally captivating. Mr. Foxglove had long lost the ability to stride and now shuffled along the stone floor in a pair of velvet slippers. In all of his years visiting, Kaspian had never seen the man wear outdoor shoes.

The occult section of the shop had no windows: As if special precautions had been undertaken to prevent the books disintegrating in sunlight. Before the client entered, Foxglove would shuffle in to the darkness and light the dusty oil-lamps which filled the room with paraffin smoke and cast dancing shadows over the books. As a child, Doctor Heartlock had taken delight in teasing Kaspian about his fears surrounding the shop, telling him that the shadows belonged to the book goblins. Both men would laugh, and although he knew he was being mocked, Kaspian’s imagination refused to give up the idea – and even now, Kaspian found himself looking for the goblins out of the corner of his eye.  

Today, Foxglove had already bundled and tied the books and they were sitting on the counter ready for collection. Kaspian was grateful for this; not only did it save him time but it meant not having to visit backroom. The books had been a heavy load to carry and twice he had used them as an excuse to stop and rest; once in a coffee shop and once to spy on the strange woman who now haunted the edges of his thoughts.

 “Ah, well – patience is a virtue,” said Heartlock, snapping Kaspian out of his drifting daydream. Doctor Heartlock’s face flickered with disappointment.

 Heartlock started to cough, a reaction to the cool early winter air which Kaspian had brought in with him. Heartlock’s aging lungs squeezed and wheezed out breath. It was a sound as familiar now as the sound of his voice.

Heartlock recovered the pile of books from the side table and placed them into his lap before turning his wheelchair deftly one hundred and eighty degrees and wheeling himself back towards the study.

Kaspian let out a deep sigh. The sight of his patron becoming so immobile and decrepit added to the sense of heaviness Kaspian increasingly believed to be attached to the adult world. Even the house, his home since childhood, seemed to fade and peel on a daily basis, as if the whole place was a projection of its master’s state. The dust layer deepened, the gloom spread and Kaspian felt increasingly like he was suffocating.

When Heartlock had been a fit man, the house had been full of fascinating visitors; the sound of hearty laughter and tinkling whisky glasses filled the study, which was a hub of academic and scientific progress. It was amazing how quickly a life could decay. 

With each passing month, fewer visitors came. With their absence, there came an absence of cases for investigation and Heartlock faded into anonymity. No longer being an ‘expert in his field’ saddened the old man terribly, but his pride was too strong to admit it. Along with all of this, Kaspian couldn’t help but think he added to the old man’s disappointment. 

~*~

So you thought King Arthur's Knights
 were just a legend?
A myth from the misty veils of time. 
But what if time doesn't work the way 
you think it does?
What if the magic never died?

  For seventeen year old Mina Singer, life is 
pretty average; college, friends, a slightly
 eccentric mother, and a long term relationship 
with the boy next door. 
But with the arrival of the mysterious Blake Beldevier, Mina learns that not not everything is as it seems and fairytale endings can be fatal. 

Book one, The Forest of Adventures can be bought from Amazon.

Day Six of Creepfest! It's 6-6-6 for the Creeptacular Red Tash!

Today I'd like to welcome Red Tash! She's the author of the highly rated fantasy/mystery novel, 'This Brilliant Darkness' (and no, the title isn't just her bigging contents of the book!). She's answered a couple of Christmassy questions for me!

M.F. What's the worst present you've ever received?

R.T. The worst present I ever received was a Thighmaster-sorta gadget, from my first husband.  Yep, he didn't stay my husband for long after that.

M.F. Lol. I can understand why! What is your least favourite Christmas food?

R.T.  Eggnog is the worst!  Who invented that?

M.F. I can honestly say I've never tasted Eggnog. I guess I'm not missing out on much. Final question; what would you do if you woke up and actually found a fat man dressed in red at the end of your bed?

R.T.  If I woke up to find a fat man dressed in red at the bottom of my bed, I would ask my husband to please stop sleeping at the bottom of the bed!  ;)  Seriously, though, I am pretty sure Santa Claus does exist, so I think once I got over the initial shock, I'd probably grill him with questions and then beg him to let me fly away with him and his reindeer.

M.F. Of course Santa exists! Who else would I have been talking about? What are you trying to tell me... ;-)

If that's got you interested in the very lovely Red, you can find her at her blog, facebook page, or twitter.

This Brilliant Darkness is available to buy from Amazon .


When an ancient, troubled entity identifies quirky Christine Grace as his latest threat, all hell breaks loose in the urban forest of Indiana University's Dunn Woods. Will Christine piece together his destructive plan in time to save herself? And what exactly is going on with this peculiar star, Stella Mirabilis?

This fast-paced story moves quickly from character to character, through the headspace of not just Christine and the monster Greachin, but also to Tom, her devoted boyfriend, and Richard, an aging physicist interested in the time-traveling star overhead, and others. Along the way, singing street people, cosplaying environmental activists, and heaven-sent beings come to populate the unique cityscape of Bloomington, IN, where encountering the bizarre is an everyday experience.

For the Fourth Day of Creepfest... Welcome Annetta Ribken!

Hi Everyone! I hope you're all enjoying Creepfest and meeting lots of new authors. For today I have author Annetta Ribken.

M.F. don’t describe yourself as a horror writer though your novel, Athena’s Promise, contains monsters and your short story collection is described as being escorted ‘deep into twisted, cobwebby parts of the characters minds’. So how would you describe your writing?

A.R.  Not Nice and Other Understatements does contain stories which could be considered horror, but there are also literary stories, fantasy stories, even a romance of sorts. Athena's Promise is urban fantasy (or paranormal fantasy), but my opinion is a good writer transcends genre. I think labels are more for marketing purposes than anything else. For some reason I have an aversion to being pigeonholed into a certain genre, because I don't want to be limited. I guess if I had to choose a specific label, it would be "speculative fiction" just to keep my options open.

M.F. I see you offer editing services as well as your books. What do you think makes a good editor?

A.R. I'm a content editor, which means I evaluate a piece for story arc, characterization, plot, and narrative flow. A good editor understands the structure of a story; is able to put ego aside completely; exhibits an extraordinary attention to detail and is able to suggest changes or improvements which enhance and strengthen the story the writer wants to tell without changing the "voice". You have to be able to see the big picture as well as the component parts which makes it work.  A good editor also has to understand her client and how they work, which means you have to be empathetic and flexible. I absolutely love my job.

M.F.  What do you make of the whole ‘indie’ revolution?

A.R.  I think it's an exciting time for both readers and writers. As a writer, we now have more options than ever, but that doesn't mean the road to success is any easier. It still takes persistence, marketing savvy, a whole lot of work, and did I say persistence? In my opinion, it's not an either/or proposition as far as legacy publishing vs. indie and every writer has their own path – you have to choose the one which works best for you, and only the writer can determine that. You need to be open-minded and you also need to educate yourself on the changes which seem to happen at a light-speed pace.

M.F.  And now for some more Christmassy questions... What’s the worst present you’ve ever received?

A.R.  Is there such a thing as a "bad" present? Heh. Wrap it up and put a bow on it and it's all good – it's the thought behind the gift that matters, not so much what's in it.

M.F.  Are there any Christmas movies that freak you out?

A.R.  Not really. I try to stay away from tear-jerkers. My favourite Christmas movies are the Blade Trilogy, A Nightmare Before Christmas and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not traditional Christmas movies, but I'm not a big fan of the holiday anyway.

M.F.  How do you normally spend Christmas day? Does your family have any weird traditions?

A.R.  Since my kids are grown and gone and my mom has passed, Christmas is very quiet. I usually treat it like just another day, but my BFF doesn't let me get away with that. She drags me out in my Grinch t-shirt for dinner, and I have a good time in spite of myself. I'm on the phone with my kids, but the day is typically very low-key.

The only weird tradition I can think of that we still practice today is everybody has to have new pajamas for Christmas Eve and a new toothbrush for Christmas Day. Because, you know, dental health is always important. Heh.

To find out more, you can find "Athena's Promise" at Amazon and Smashwords. You can also visit Annetta's blog through the 12 Days of Creepfest to win an e-copy, or visit her giveaway on GoodReads for an autographed print copy.

 Synopsis:

"No matter what it takes."

As the front desk manager of a hotel on the edge of Zombietown, Pallas is used to dealing with angry centaurs, surly trolls, and zombie housekeepers. The trouble really starts when one of her guests ends up dead. But that's not her only problem.

A cop with an attitude – can he be trusted to be more than just a pain in her ass or does he have a more sinister agenda?

A new Guest Services Manager, out for her job and ready to sacrifice anyone in his way – what does he really want?

The attractive maintenance guy, endangering the promise she made out of necessity to the Goddess Athena – does he know more than he's telling?

A mermaid diva, whose show at the Sparkling Butterfly must go on – or else.

Pallas needs to find the killer, and fast, or she'll lose her job, her home, and the ragtag family she's adopted out of her crew of "critters".

In the course of the investigation Pallas uncovers connections to a nasty Oddities dealer deep in the heart of Zombietown, forcing her to expose a trauma from her past which could threaten her future. With everyone and everything she loves in danger, the promise made to the Goddess Athena may well damn her if she breaks it, but she is bound and determined to save her friends, her home, and everything she's built.

No matter what it takes.

Author bio: Annetta has been writing since words were carved on stone tablets with chisels. Not only does she write her own words, Annetta is also an accomplished editor. She lives just outside of St. Louis with her evil feline overlord, a rescued shelter cat named Athena.

Stalk Annetta here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/netta50

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Annetta.Ribken

Blog: http://wordwebbing.com/

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3414795.Annetta_Ribken

Day 2 of Creepfest! Meet author, Ruth Barrett!

Today I would like to welcome the very lovely Ruth Barrett! Ruth is the author of the novel 'Base Spirits', a traditional ghost story set in an old Yorkshire house. I was most impressed to learn that Ruth studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA). She's now turned her hand to writing, though her book contains influences from her love of the theatre.

M.F. Hi Ruth, can you tell us all what inspired 'Base Spirits'? 

R.B. I was in a Jacobean play-- 'A Yorkshire Tragedy'-- based on the true story of a nobleman murdering his family. I had a chance to visit Yorkshire during the rehearsal period, discovered Calverley Old Hall where the tragedy took place, and was given a tour and a book by a local historian. I found it creepy/cool that you can actually rent the Hall for vacations... and there are a few ghost stories about the place. I just thought it would make a great novel.

M.F.  I love novels that are based on fact! Have you been writing for long and do you have any current WIPs?

R.B. I've always written stories ever since I was a child. I've published a number of short stories over the years, and am working on and off on a few projects including a novel about a Victorian revenant and a character-driven mystery series with a dark comic twist.

M.F. What are your thoughts about the recent trend for authors to 'go indie'.

R.B. It's the Wild West at this stage. A lot of people are jumping in and tossing undercooked work up onto the websites before honing their manuscripts or having them properly edited. Your name is on that book-- surely you owe it to yourself and your readers to present it in its best form! A lot of others are seeing this as a way to get their writing out and find an audience instead of waiting for a publisher's gatekeeper to decide what is read. In the end, the serious folks with good books will find a good readership base with a slow steady effort, and the ones who are hoping to cash in and become overnight millionaires will give up. Overall, it's very positive for serious writers who are frustrated with the traditional process. I also find that indie authors are a friendly, supportive bunch and that is always encouraging!

M.F. I totally agree. Too many people are commiting career suicide by putting out work that hasn't been through an editor. Unfortuntely, it's authors doing that that gives the rest of us a bad name! Your novel is a traditional ghost story - have you ever experienced a Christmas Spirit (or ghost of any kind!) 

R.B  Not a Christmas ghost, but yes... there have been a few incidents over the years ranging from an 'icky' feeling that something is in the room with me to actual sightings of full figures. 

M.F. Ooh.. that sounds like a story I'd like to hear more of!  What are you plans for this Christmas?

R.B. A few local parties with friends, and a quiet Christmas Eve in with my dashing and delightful male companion...!

M.F. Merry Christmas Ruth, and thanks for stopping by!

Head over to her blog Spirited Words to find out a bit more about Ruth and her work. Her novel, 'Base Spirits' is also available to buy from Amazon for $2.99.


In 1605, Sir Walter Calverley’s murderous rampage leaves a family shattered. The killer suffers a torturous execution… but is it truly the end? A noble Yorkshire house stands forever tarnished by blood and possessed by anguished spirits.


Some crimes are so horrific, they reverberate through the centuries. 


As an unhappy modern couple vacation in the guesthouse at Calverley Old Hall, playwright Clara, and her scholar husband, Scott, unwittingly awaken a dark history. Clara is trapped and forced back in time to bear witness to a family’s bloody saga. Overtaken by the malevolent echoes, Scott is pushed over the edge from possessive husband to wholly possessed…


Inspired by a true-life drama in Shakespeare’s day, this is itself a play within a play: a supernatural thriller with a historical core. 


Only one player can survive.

Welcome author, Vincent Hobbes, and win a copy of his book!

 Hi Vincent ! Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing a little about yourself and your work.  Let’s start with the most important thing: your books. Give us a brief description of the novel you want to talk about today.

V.H.  The book is called The Endlands. It is a short story collection written by twelve different authors (including myself). There are seventeen total stories. Each story is strange—with a twist. A carnival of the bizarre, if you will. So far, it has been well received by fans and critics.

M.F.  So what are you working on at the moment? Have you got any new projects in the pipeline?

V.H.  With the success of volume one of The Endlands, I’m currently working on volume two. We have a whole new batch of stories and the second volume promises to be even better than the first. I’m also currently writing a dystopian novel, and pecking away on a horror story, as well.

M.F. Is writing something you’ve recently got into, or have you been writing for ages?

V.H.  I’ve been writing most my life. In my teenage years, I knew i wanted to be a writer. Over the years I learned the craft, though I’ve only been writing professionally for about six years.

M.F. What do you make of the changes in the industry, with so many more people going ‘indie’?

V.H.  I think the changes are great for authors and readers. Authors are getting to share their work much more easily through eBooks and Indie publishing. This is perfect for the reader, as well. We are seeing so many books on the market that never would have seen the light of day. I have discovered some high-quality authors who are putting their work out there, and receiving great reviews, too.

M.F.  Who is your greatest influence when it comes to your writing?

V.H. Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck . . . the list goes on and on. I like the diversity of these authors. King writes horror, science fiction, a little fantasy. Bradbury is also unique, and Fahrenheit 451 has always been a favorite of mine.

M.F. Stephen King says when he writes, it is for his wife Tabitha. When you write, is there anyone you are writing for?

V.H.  I’d say I write for my own sanity. It’s my therapy. When a story enters my mind, I must put it on paper or face sheer insanity. I write because I’m supposed to write. If I wrote for someone else, I don’t think it would be all that good.

M.F. What sort of books do you read yourself?

V.H.  Pretty much anything. I love dystopian and horror, and read bits of science fiction. I’ve been on a zombie kick recently.

M.F.  Now for some more abstract questions: If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?

V.H.  Bob Lee Swagger, a character in Stephen Hunter’s novels. He’s a man’s man; he goes out there and he gets the job done. Hunter has created an interesting character with Bob Lee Swagger—a hero with flaws, which makes him so appealing.

M.F.  If aliens landed in front of you and offered you anything you wanted, what would it be?

V.H.  Ten thousand acres in Montana, my idea of freedom.

M.F.  Tell us something quirky/interesting that people probably don’t know about you.

V.H.  If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret any longer.


M.F.  Haha, very well. Your secrets will remain safe!

***GIVE AWAY TIME***


Vincent has very kindly offered to give away a copy of his book, 'The Endlands' to one lucky commenter. All you need to do is leave Vincent a comment telling him what your favourite horror/supernatural novel is. A random winner will be drawn and announced right here so remember to leave your web or email address so we can get hold of you!


Good luck everyone, and Vincent, thanks for being here! If you'd like to know more about Vincent, you can visit his website www.VincentHobbes.com.

Guest Blogging over at Preternatura!

Hi everyone!
I'm a guest blogger of the lovely Suzanne Johnson over on her site Preternatura today.
http://suzanne-johnson.blogspot.com/2010/12/dark-genres-with-author-marissa-farrar.html
I'm discussing my choice of dark genres (or if they actually chose me!). There is a chance of winning one of my novels if you leave me a comment, so I really hope you'll stop by...