Thursday, December 24, 2020

Here's to a merry time!

Hi, everyone. All tweaking and changes, and promo posts, come to an end now as I'm signing off until after St Stephen's (Boxing) Day. From me to you, may you laugh and relax and find inspiration over the festivities. Many of us will be home, separated from loved ones, and gatherings will be via Zoom and otherwise, but no matter, wherever we are, smile! We have a new year to look forward to!



Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Another Bloody Christmas


Lol, that title always gets me! This year, of course, most of us are hoping that gatherings can take place, so, whether it's another bloody Christmas or not, we look forward to festivities of some kind. Still, feel the need to escape all of it? Then do grab this anthology! Eight brilliant stories with a Christmas theme, some scary, some horrifying, others saddening, and even laughter will find you :)

ANOTHER BLOODY CHRISTMAS

8 British Christmas shorts from the Wild Wolf stable to get you ready for the Holidays.

1: A Corpse for Christmas by T.K. Geering ~ While Jack the Ripper is terrorising Mitre Square, bodies are going missing too.

2: Gabriel by Elaina J Davidson ~ Old houses keep old secrets. Ivy discovers that not everyone loves Christmas as much as she does. The dude in the mirror is trying to kill her!

3: The Sins of the Season by Richard Rhys Jones ~ At a time when the gentry rule us peasants, a vicar in a remote parish has his hands full of the deadly sins. Once a druid enters the opulent halls of shame, it all gets bloody interesting.

4: Stocking Killer by Jillian Ward ~ Of all the times of the year to cheat on her man, she chooses now! Well some dude needs a lesson to keep his hands off and Dave is on it like a man possessed; it doesn’t end well for any of them.

5: Christmas Nerd by Joanne Sexton ~ Her family was brutally murdered on Christmas and this holiday is dreaded by her every year since. That's until the cute IT guy makes his move and Kaley gets to have a family Christmas for the first time in decades. The problem with good looking guys is they always have issues.

6: On the Twelfth Day of Christmas by Paul Rudd ~ Thrown back into the 80s we follow Tommy and his friends through the most treacherous board game ever created. It’s awesome, it’s ruthless, and the entire town is now dead! If a stranger tempts you to play a game for the 12 days of Christmas, you might like to reconsider.

7: The Secret of Hungry Summit Mountains by Hannah Ferguson ~ Eloise was just another girl until she was attacked by a vagrant. This one act derails her entire life, leaving her homeless, pregnant, desperate, and depressed. Getting home for Christmas didn’t even cross her mind.

8: The Whispers of Christmas by Poppet ~ Angela is living in a reality that keeps warping. She’s hearing things, has a stalker who’s gas lighting her, and is forced to get high when she goes home for Christmas. Then things get really weird.

It’s just ANOTHER BLOODY CHRISTMAS for these characters, but what the hell, we only live once.


Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Still tweaking!

Hi, here I am once more with an update about the changes happening here. As mentioned before, a dedicated Audio Book page is in progress (still need to add all links but it suddenly got busy for me, so bear with me - will be done soon!), Justine's Journal has been removed here and unpublished (I see the paperback remains available via Amazon), so now it's time to tell you about the other 'thing' I intend to do. 

Those of you who have been following along over the years will know that I have reviewed a fair amount of books here - under the label 'Book Review' if you're interested - and have a dedicated review page showcasing book covers in their categories. While it has been the most viewed page of all, I feel it no longer serves. Unable to add links to images, the covers are static, do not lead to the book and where you can buy a copy. That ability has changed now that Blogger has updated and has more functionality, but, truth is, to now find the many links in order to update the images is a frustrating task, especially considering many of the books have been either unpublished or have undergone a metamorphosis. Due to commitment to Redwing Productions, besides, I find my time limited when it comes to reading and reviewing, and thus is the page in its present guise becoming somewhat of a white elephant.

You guessed it. The book review page will be removed in the next day or so, time willing. Do browse while it's still up - you may like the look of a cover and go a-searching for your next read. Patience while going through the reviews under the 'Book Review' label will tell you more, but know from the outset that's a loooong list.

Once the page is gone, another will take its place: Ancient Terra. Considering this series is a spin off from my LORE, it deserves a space to shine :)

Do believe my Season break will be filled with updates and changes! Considering we're heading into renewed lockdown, at least this will keep me focused ... may even write again ...



Our Lanterns Glow goes beyond 2020


All Omnibus Blurbs




 

Short Stories updated to include African Moon


 

300k!

My Writing World has hit 300 000+ views and that's a lovely gift from all of you! Thank you so much for popping in; I appreciate every visit!



xxx

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Afrivan Moon: a taste of summer


African Moon: Something I wrote while living in the Southern Hemisphere and considering it's summer there now (and I'm seeking some proper heat!) here's a glimpse into life in Cape Town, South Africa. Of course, this was written pre-Covid and is kinda bittersweet because right now the beaches are off limits there. Even if they were open, the mask wearing state of our present makes a lie of this story. Still, this was just yesterday and may it soon be our tomorrow again :)

African Moon

It’s a hot day in Cape Town but a woman holds the vigil at a window overlooking the beach. She dreams of a sailing boat, a lost soul perhaps, entering upon silver streaks on the water. Is this merely dreaming or, as she believes, a vision?

She will watch, she will give it this one day, and then go on with her life, and waiting with her is Barney, her beloved dog, and Fantasy, her snooty cat. Man, a girl and her fur babies get hungry while waiting for something to happen …


Friday, December 18, 2020

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Two new translations in the works!

In the last 2 days I have accepted offers to 2 new translations: The Artist is now being translated into Italian (joining the Spanish, Portuguese and French versions) and Ancient Illuminations is underway into French (Spanish, Portuguese and Italian already available). Book covers, titles and links to follow as and when they are ready :)



Monday, December 14, 2020

Elaina on Pinterest

If you're interested, I'm on Pinterest too and have a fair few boards I try and post to regularly. Probably the most posted to is WORLDS OF THE MEDAILLON, my Lore Series board with images to showcase the worlds my characters function in. There is a WRITING WORLD board also, as well as my interests in the natural world. Below are a few screenshots of my boards (with an average of 600k views per month) - something for everyone :) Do pop over and either follow a board that takes your interest, or follow me to see all of it. Thanks!

Elaina on Pinterest

From WORLDS OF THE MEDAILLON







If you can't see the number ...



 

"What in Hades it it??"


 

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Crazed and Creative

With so much going on at the moment, it must sometimes seem as if I'm all over the place. I mean, first I post about covers changing, then it's a book in translation, sometimes it's an audio book going into production or one just released, and so on. Truth is, this is the writer's life. There is no formal structure, or not to the degree that one can determine with absolute accuracy what will be ready soon, later, then and now, and therefore plan posts accordingly. So, yes, as it happens, I share here, and then, lo, there's the marketing side of things, a post on occasion to keep my stories circulating.

Let's look at this week, for instance: audio book posts, a translation, a nudge about Song of the Spaces, and then came the decision to simplify this blog (still in process), even news of a book being unpublished (done, although it may be a day or two before it disappears from Amazon completely). Perhaps I'm complicating my writer's life, you think to yourself ... oh, definitely, you're spot on! And yet, truth is, such complication is part of the creative process. See, currently I find actual writing a bit hard to sit down to and work at, carve time out for, and experience has taught me that changing something (such as this blog) actually brings on the spark, the impetus, to write again. The sharing as it happens is normal but upheaval is a conscious decision because change is in itself creative.

Of course, given the edits and formats I'm currently working on for Redwing Productions, my editing service, my time isn't always my own. What happens here happens when taking a breather from such projects. Why, then, create chaos for myself? There are days, weeks, sometimes months, when my time is so locked into editing projects that I barely show my face (ha, my butterfly) online, do not share what's happening in my writing world, not even to keep up socially, so why choose upheaval?

The simple answer is that, for me, the more crazed I am, the more creative I become. Writers are so weird, right? Told my husband recently that when someone tells me 'you're not normal' again (has happened a few times, especially in family situations), I'll simply say, "Thank you." Not being 'normal' is a compliment!

Just thought I'd share something of what's roiling around in my mind right now, to explain the eclectic posting. Do come back for more of the crazy!!


This is for you


 

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Justine's Journal to be unpublished

Those of you who have been on this journey with me will know about the experiment Justine and I did a few years ago, writing and collating a 52 week journal of 500 words per day, a path to self-discovery, with the proceeds going to charity. Unfortunately, Justine's Journal did not gain much traction, and given that we are now living through a pandemic, which means that every path to discovery, whether to self or to others, has utterly changed, we feel it is time to remove it from my list of published work. This will happen tomorrow, so if you'd like a copy for nostalgia's sake, pop on over and grab one today. Justine and I both have a paperback copy and that's enough for us :)

Justine's Journal - Amazon

Justine's Journal - Smashwords


Update: You will recall that we posted Justine's 500 words per day here on Writing World and created a dedicated page to keep track, and each post was accompanied by an inspirational or insightful image/text. As the page will be removed after this update, I thought I'd share with you a collage of some of those images. The actual posts will remain on this blog, though :)



Move, shift, change, delete :)

Hi all! In the interest of simplifying this long-running blog, am changing a few things, such as moving my audio books to a dedicated page. Stuff will shift around, items will be deleted, and you may therefore visit when everything looks a bit odd, unfinished, around here - all will be back to normal soon, promise :)