Saturday 24 December 2016

Merry Christmas! A Seasonal Short Story for You


Merry Christmas
&
A Happy New Year!

Here's a seasonal short story for you:
The Elves & The Toymakers



Not blessed with their own children, a dressmaker and her husband, a cobbler, find a way to share their love with children all around them.

This story is a re-imagining of the fairy tale The Elves and the Shoemaker with a Christmas holiday twist.

Monday 7 November 2016

Happy Hug a Bear Day #HugABearDay

Today, 7th Nov, is Hug A Bear Day!
So go find your favourite teddy bear (or any plush toy, we're not discriminating here) and give him/her a big ol' cuddle :).

QUESTION: What was/is your favourite stuffed toy?

I had a toy koala when I was a child. He didn't have a name except Koala, and he wasn't all that squishy, but I loved him and cuddled him all the time. Yes, I am, sadly talking in the past tense, because he is no longer with us thanks to an incident with our dog when he was a puppy. I do, however, still hug Koala II, who was bought as a replacement after the sad demise of his predecessor. 

Koala II sits on top of my bookcase alongside a collection of other furry friends (some of which one would not expect to be furry): a raven, a snake, a turtle, a frog, two cats, and, yes, of course, a couple of actual teddy bears.

According to Days of the Year, stuffed animals go back all the way to ancient Egypt, but plush toys entered children's nurseries about 1830 (and if I remember correctly, the most popular mass-produced animal was an elephant). The Teddy Bear term was coined in 1902 and is named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who, when he was hunting, refused to shoot a baby bear. The Teddy Bear became an international best seller, and what's not to love about a cute, cuddly Teddy Bear?

In my opinion, no-one is ever too young, or too old for a Teddy Bear.

So, Happy Hug A Bear Day Everyone!

Monday 31 October 2016

FREE BOOKS - Halloween Price Slasher and Trick or Treat 2016

Welcome to Wittegen Press Halloween Book Price Slasher Joining with Trick or Treat Book Blog Hop!

Happy Halloween!
31st October 2016

Today only, Tasha and I are discounting all of our Wittegen Press horror/paranormal themed books 
and we are taking part in the 
Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop
run by the wonderful Patricia Lynne. 
Many wonderful authors are giving away books instead of candy. See the list at the bottom of the post for all those taking part.

SO, our 99c paranormal & horror themed books are FREE
and our higher priced books have 35% off.
See the book listings below for details.

For even more exclusive FREEBIES join our newsletter (form below), where, for Halloween only, we are giving our members chances to grab the discounted books below completely FREE.

Trick-or-Treat Halloween Price Slasher
FREE books!

Every year at this time we launch a two story Halloween anthology to give away for AllHallowsRead. This is an idea supported by the wonderful Neil Gaiman where people give a scary book for Halloween. This year ours is truly chilling.

Made In Blood: Tales of Terror
Authors: Sophie Duncan & Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: horror Two delicious tales of terror to tingle the spine:
The Warmth of Blood by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Mirror Twins by Sophie Duncan

The book is downloadable from Smashwords for free, just follow the link and download it.

Free Books With Discount Codes

All of following books are usually 99c BUT are also available on Smashwords for free for 24hrs, but to get the discount you have to do the following:
  • click the buy button at the linked book page (click the title)
  • put the coupon code (in bold after the title) in the box on the page that comes up
  • click apply coupon
  • checkout as normal and the book is yours for free
Books:


Trick-or-Treat Halloween Price Slasher
Discount Books

We didn't want to leave out our other horror/paranormal genre books either, so they are reduced by 35%.

Author: Sophie Duncan
Genre: ghost story
Code: EY92D
Price: $3.99 $2.59 (35% off)
Is it symptoms left from his brain haemorrhage, or a guilty conscience that is making Tristan McCall see things no-one else can? Forced out of the police by scandal and illness, Tris is trying to rebuild his life through the renovation of the home he hopes to share with Xander, his husband. A sprawling Gothic pile, Berwick House is in need of attention, but Tris soon realises the attention is not all one way. Faced with a presence in the house only he can sense, Tris must decide if his damaged brain is playing tricks on him, or if Berwick House really holds a dark and dangerous message from beyond the grave.

Author: Sophie Duncan
Genre: vampire
Code: BN37F
Price: $2.99 $1.94 (35% off)
Tom Franklin has never really understood his midnight cravings for red meat. His Harley Street doctor had always diagnosed his symptoms as a protein deficiency, aggravated by stress, yet, when his symptoms escalate, Tom's parents are forced to reveal the truth: he isn't quite human.

Author: Sophie Duncan & Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: paranormal adventure and romance
Code: SE52M
Price: $1.99 $1.29 (35% off)
Discover the touch of the supernatural in this volume of short stories and novelettes.
Author: Sophie Duncan & Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: horror
Code: SG76Z
Price: $1.99 $1.29 (35% off)
Ghosts, zombies and haunted dolls are just a few of the disturbing creatures you will meet in this volume of short stories and novelettes.

Author: Sophie Duncan & Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: horror
Code: KS85H
Price: $1.50 $0.99 (35% off)
Two stories for lovers of horror and curses:
If Wishes Were... by Natasha Duncan-Drake
Happy Families by Sophie Duncan.

Author: Sophie Duncan
Genre: paranormal adventure
Code: NH48E
Price: $1.50 $0.99 (35% off)
The Hidden War has been raging unseen my normal eyes for generations and Zac Kithrall, demon-seer, and Damon Wulfres, demon-raiser, have grown up on opposite sides of it. Now they must work together, but Zac can't remember why.

Author: Natasha Duncan-Drake
Genre: vampire
Code: JM78G
Price: $2.99 $1.94 (35% off)
When you're a vampire hunter infected with vampirism your life expectancy is short. Nate's a hunter and Lexie's a witch and they have less than six months before Lexie's magic can no longer delay the symptoms and keep them at least partially human.





Click the links in the list below to visit the other great authors giving away books.






Join The Wittegen Press Mailing List

We'll send you details of book releases, competitions and other news from our authors, BUT we WON'T spam you, or pass your details on to anyone else.
Wittegen Press

We will also give you 2 FREE ebooks, not available anywhere else, just for signing up .

* indicates required

Monday 24 October 2016

Announcing: Halloween Book Price Slasher (FREE and discount books from Wittegen Press)

Announcing
Wittegen Press Halloween Book Price Slasher!

On 31st October 2016
Tasha and I will be discounting all of our Wittegen Press horror/paranormal themed books. 
That means many of our 99c books will be free and our higher priced books will have money off. Check back on the 31st to see all the deals.

For even more exclusive FREEBIES join our newsletter (form below), where, on Halloween, we will be giving our members chances to grab those discounted books completely FREE.

You get two free books just for signing up anyway and 
on 31st Oct 2016 
we will be sending out our exclusive offers all day.

We'll send you details of book releases, competitions and other news from our authors, BUT we WON'T spam you, or pass your details on to anyone else.
Wittegen Press

We will also give you 2 FREE ebooks, not available anywhere else, just for signing up .

* indicates required

Wednesday 7 September 2016

The Insecure Writer's Support Group - Finding Time...


The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) stated purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Where we can post our thoughts on our own blogs. Talk about our doubts and the fears we have conquered. Discuss our struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

Plus, a question is posed, and this month's is: How do you find the time to write in your busy day?


The answer, sadly, is that I don't manage it all of the time, especially if work has been fraught and all I want to do is collapse and sleep when I get home. However, I do try to be bite-size, and I make sure I write at least once a week with The Drabble Cascade, a flash fic challenge that I and my sis, Tasha run over on our erotic romance blog, Fantasy Boys XXX. It only takes 100 words, maybe half an hour a week, so it keeps my writing hat weathered. (I have to admit here that there have been a couple of weeks recently where I totally forgot due to life challenges, but they are rare misses).

My favourite time of the day for creative thought is actually early in the morning, just after I get out of bed, when sleep has gone away, my brain wanders over ideas. Sometimes, when I am really inspired I do write when I'm on my exercise bike (I have a little tray designed for hanging off the back of car seats attached to the bike where I can put my Surface).

I also have my Surface open when I'm watching TV in case the muse strikes. Although with the TV on, that usually leads to notes for when I next sit down and write.

Finally, I work 4 days a week to earn a living, so that means of the working week I have one day when I am a writer. Some of this day is spent with marketing and networking, but I do make sure I have at least a couple of hours for writing (most weeks, that is, because sometimes life gets in the way as it has a tendency to do).

Anyone got any good tips on how to fit it all in?

Insecurities:

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I mentioned last month that I don't think  I'm not writing enough and I'm not achieving my goals. And to sort this out, I've given myself a list of goals and I promised to keep everyone up to date, so here it is:

My goals list progress:

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  • Finish Ghost Blood Draft #1 - only 2 out of five scenes left to go, which is pretty crap for a whole month, but I'm getting there and it's better than the previous month!
  • Rewrite the start of Sacrifice of An Angel
  • Finish Bonds of Fire Extended Version
  • Take The Case of the Cursed House plan and turn into Draft #1 


Friday 2 September 2016

Recipe: Creamy Lasagne


Creamy Lasagne
So, I had to make a lasagne last week and this is what I came up with. My family liked it, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. :)

This recipe makes a large Lasagne of 27x27x5cm, feeds 6-8.

Ingredients
Red Sauce

  • Oil for frying
  • 2 small, or 1 large onion (I used red onion, but you can use whichever onion you prefer)
  •  680g of turkey breast mince
  •  2 beef stock cubes
  • 500g (1 pack) passata
  • 2 large field mushrooms
  • 2 small roasted red peppers
  • 1 courgette
  • 3 crushed cloves/(tspns) garlic (paste) – keep 1 helping separate
  • 1 tspn oregano
  •  A dash of chilli paste
  •  2 tblspns of sweet sherry

White Sauce

I like this shop variety creamy lasagne sauce, of which I purchased 1180g. Yes, I know it's cheating, but I really like it.

However, if you want to make your own, it's just a matter of making a white sauce with butter, flour and milk. Sorry, I have no idea about quantities, except that it's about 1:1 butter to flour.

Lasagne Compilation

  • ~15 Lasagne Sheets - the exact number depends on the shape of your lasagne dish
  • 75g Mozzarella (grated)
  • 75g Cheddar (grated)


Equipment

  • Frying pan and fish slice
  • 1 large lasagne dish 27x27x5cm, or several small ones
  • Knife and chopping board
  • Small bowl for setting aside ingredients
  • Measuring jug and small measures
  • Spoon
  • Mandolin (for slicing the courgette), but you can use a knife if you don’t have one


Preparation
Red Sauce

  • Chop the mushroom in bite size pieces and fry on a low heat in a little oil with 2 cloves/tsps of garlic until mushrooms begin to soften, then put in a bowl and leave to the side.
  • While the mushroom is cooking, chop the onion finely and then, in the same unwashed pan that you cooked the mushrooms in, fry over a low heat until soft and translucent

  • Return the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 mins
  • Add the turkey mince and cook on medium to high heat until it all goes beige, i.e. it’s cooked through
  • Add the stock cubes to approx. 100ml of cold water and dissolve, then add this to the pan, stirring in and cooking through for a couple of minutes.
  • Chop the red peppers finely. Now you can go about roasting red peppers if you want, but I found a great cheat, buying them in a jar in brine.
  • Add the oregano, remaining garlic, chopped red pepper, passata, a dash of chilli paste to your taste, and the sherry
  • Cook on a medium to high heat for about ten minutes and then taste: add more of the herbs or spices as you see fit.
  • Leave the sauce to reduce on a low heat, and meanwhile, slice the courgette finely and fry in a little oil until it begins to colour (this may sound like a faff, and if you’re like me and only have a little second frying pan, you might have to do it in batches, but OMG, it adds flavour)
  • Add the courgette to the red sauce and cook for a minute or two


Compiling the Lasagne

  • Start by covering the bottom of the dish with lasagne sheets (break one up to fill in the gaps that will undoubtedly be left), I used 4 and a half sheets
  • Put in a layer of half the red sauce about 1cm thick to cover the pasta sheets

  • Put on a layer of white sauce to cover the red, this should be about ⅓ of the white sauce
  • Repeat steps 1 to 3, this should use up all your red sauce.
  • Put on a final layer of lasagne sheets, I used 6 on this layer, because
    • My lasagne dish gets slightly bigger towards the top
    • I filled in the gaps more thoroughly on the last layer, because I like a bit of extra pasta in the top layer
  • Add a final layer of white sauce covering the entire top
  • Sprinkle with the two cheeses
N.B. My family loves creamy lasagne, so this is heavy on the white sauce. If you prefer it tangier, then just reduce the amount of white sauce, perhaps leave out the second layer of white sauce and just put it over the final layer of pasta.


Cooking
Bake the lasagne in a pre-heated oven (160°C Fan) for 30-40mins, until the top is golden and the lasagne is bubbling.

And finally...
This is a very large lasagne, it will feed 6-8 people depending on what you are serving it with, but it also freezes well. I wait until the lasagne has gone cold and then divide it into portions to suit family size, put it into takeaway containers and then freeze. Just defrost and reheat in the oven, or microwave and it is great (I personally love twice baked lasagne :))

So, I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know how it turns out it you make it.

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Black Cat Appreciation Day 2016!

So, I couldn't miss today, Black Cat Appreciation Day, to celebrate Black Cats, because I have an absolute darling of a kittie called Binx, who is my own little black panther; this is a picture of her (above) as she was rolling around on our decking in the sun.

When I adopted her and her mum, Silver (not a black cat, but still wonderful), from the brilliant rescue centre, Happy Endings Rescue, they said they have difficulty re-homing black cats, because people are superstitious about them, but I've always loved the melanistic little beasties :).

Binx was only 7 months when she moved in with us, and she was a pretty little bundle of nerves, but after a year with us, she is just such a loving little lady. She's always happy to see you, and if you call, she comes trotting up, tail straight up in the air. And she adores a good scratch on the top of her head.

I love my sweet little black cat, and I think everyone else should love her too :D.

If anyone is interested, this picture of Binx is available on Society6 as a print, plus all sorts of nifty accessories like phone and laptop cases, T-shirts, throw pillows, and much more, 

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Insecure Writer's Support Group - My First Post & My First Piece, where is it now?


I have recently joined The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG), whose stated purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Where we can post our thoughts on our own blogs. Talk about our doubts and the fears we have conquered. Discuss our struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

Plus, a question is posed, and this month's is: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?


Well, the first piece of writing I had an aim to publish was way back when I was 11 years old. Having grown up watching British and American Sci-fi and Fantasy TV and film, Dr Who, Star Trek, Star Wars and some others which have been consigned to the dark vaults of history, I wrote a sci-fi extravaganza of bold young agents in an intergalactic (possibly interdimensional, I don't think I was all that clear on that point) force who fight the worst of the worst baddies with their laser pistols and psychic powers.

Well, as you can imagine, I am very, very glad the internet did not exist when I was 11 and that rather purple set of prose is now consigned to my very own 'history' drawer never to see the light of day again. :)

However, I did really, really want to publish it when I was 11, but, rather than send the manuscript to anyone, I sent letters of inquiry to publishers (I found their addresses on their books) to ask how to go about getting published. Some of them were wonderful people and took the time to write back. I can never say how grateful I am to those folks who took those few minutes to put together some words of encouragement that kept me, a child, interested in publishing. I didn't publish anything else until ten years later, when the internet gave me access to fanfiction mailing lists, but I have never forgotten those letters.

What came of your first pieces, my fellow insecure writers, did they lead to anything, or were they just good practice?

Insecurities:

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What's been bothering me for a while is that I'm not writing enough and I'm not achieving my goals. I haven't published a novel since The Burning Web, and I think I'm getting anxious, because I am getting close to finishing another, which is the sequel to Night Blood, but I've been close to finishing it for over a year!

I have been writing; blog posts mainly, which includes this year's A to Z Challenge, where I planned out an entire detective novel, The Case of the Cursed House. I have 2 novels over 50% complete, Ghost Blood, and an extended version of my novella, Bonds of Fire, plus I have a rewrite of the start of Sacrifice of An Angel to do. I think I'm getting anxious because I have so many irons in the fire, and now I just need to pick one and knuckle down and do it. Maybe that's what I need to do, admit to myself that I've been prevaricating way too long and get on with things. I'm going to write a list here and now:

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  • Finish Ghost Blood Draft #1
  • Rewrite the start of Sacrifice of An Angel
  • Finish Bonds of Fire Extended Version
  • Take The Case of the Cursed House plan and turn into Draft #1 

Now let's see if I can keep to it - I'll post an update next month.


Monday 18 July 2016

Review: Ghostbusters - Awesomesauce!


Okay, so I may have revealed my opinion in the title of the post, but let me explain why I loved Ghostbusters (2016).

Now, I have been a fan of the original two movies since I was young, in fact, after seeing the new movie, I went back and re-watched the original Ghostbusters just for old times' sake :). Still good! But, ever since I first saw the trailers for the new movie, I have been waiting with excited anticipation for the reboot.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big paranormal fan - give me a movie or show with a ghost in it, and I'm there. Give me a movie with four kick-arse ghosthunters in it as well and you just made it a certainty I'm going to at least give it a visit at the cinema. However, that doesn't mean I wasn't nervous about this movie: there's been so much controversy about it, much more than other reboots that have slipped onto the scene, or blasted in some cases, I mean, Spider-man is about to launch into it's third since 2002 and no-one seems to mind, but Ghostbusters has drawn some vitriol.

So, I toddled off to the cinema with my sister, eagerly anticipating this reboot and hoping that it was going to reinforce my love of the original while giving me something new to love about this franchise. I have to say, in the first 15 to 20 minutes, I wasn't so sure. The jokes were cliched and dull, with only a few moments of excellence; the opening section in the Aldridge Mansion is classic Ghostbusters, but after that, I would say to everyone, give the movie time to start properly.

Once the movie did launch, about the time that the gals start ghostbusting and Patty enters their lives, then there was no let up, I laughed, giggled, and snorted my way through the rest of the movie. It was AWESOME!


These ladies here, as much a bunch of misfits as Egon, Ray, Venkman and Winston, had me smiling like a loon. I loved them all. Patty Tolan is a no nonsense, sassy woman who knows all there is to know about the history of the city of New York. Abby Yates has never wavered from her conviction that the paranormal is real and her one-liners are genius. Erin Gilbert tried to leave the paranormal behind, but in the end, has to embrace her inner ghostbuster; she's dorky, intelligent and I love her. And Jillian Holtzman - she has to be my favourite special little snowflake, who's into particle physics and engineering and doesn't give two hoots what anyone else thinks.

This quartet of lovable nerds yank the Ghostbusters franchise very firmly into the 21st Century.

The story is not a remake of the original Ghostbusters, although it gives a lot of nods to its predecessor. This is a good thing. This story picks up the legacy of the original films and runs with it into a new space. There is a new bad guy, new tricks and tools in the Ghostbusters' arsenal, and a fun twist on the modern need for governmental cover-ups. Plus, there's Kevin.


Kevin is not a gender-swapped Janine Melnitz. Just like all the other characters, he owes his existence to the original movie, i.e. there was a secretary in the original, but Kevin is his own little bundle of laughs - and yes, I'm understating it, some of the jokes linked to Kevin had me crying with laughter. I will say no more, you have to see him to believe him.

You may have gathered that I thought the acting in Ghostbusters 2016 is excellent. The effects are fantastic too. Like everything else, the ghosts take their inspiration from the look of the originals, but then 21st Century computer graphics up the ante. The interactions with the ghosts are much more visually sophisticated and make the fights scenes at the end stupendous. Friends of mine have mentioned they might have been cheering out loud during the movie, and I can guess where. All I will say is, these ladies kick arse!

So, I'll stop now with a final word: ignore all the controversy and hype, go see this movie as a fun Summer reboot and you won't be disappointed.