Magic At Midnight Release

Magic at Midnight: A Collection of YA Fairytale Retellings, by the authors of Snowy Wings Publishing, is out today. 

Grab your copy to read my 

Nutcracker Prince retelling "Solstice Spell," 

and all the other fantastic stories in the anthology! 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B5L38G8

Magic at Midnight ARC Sign Up and Writing Update

Happy weekend, everyone!

Spring/ summer looks like it's finally here, as the weather in the UK is warming up. We have plans to go to the park a little later, but first I wanted to write a quick update.

I know I have a blog over on my website, but I think I might use this blog to update about my writing only, and then the one on my site to update about my writing AND personal life.

We'll see how it works out...

The rest of this entry is under a read more cut, so please click on the link to find out more about the Snowy Wings Publishing Magic at Midnight: YA Fairytale Anthology, and how I got on doing CampNaNoWriMo in April.

COVER REVEAL: Fangs & Fins, by Amy McNulty

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm here today with the cover reveal for Fangs & Fins, by Amy McNulty, which is book one in Amy's new Blood, Bloom, & Water series.

Title: Fangs & Fins 
Series: Blood, Bloom, & Water Book One 
Author: Amy McNulty 
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing 
Publication Date: 05/01/2018 

A dapper vampire. A sullen merman. Two heirs to a great conflict—and each needs to claim a beloved to become his kindred’s champion. 

High school senior Ember Goodwin never had a sister, but after her mom’s remarriage, she now has two. The eldest is no stranger to her—Ivy is a witty girl in her grade who’s almost never spoken to the shy bookworm before—but she’s surprised to find the popular girl quite amiable. Their burgeoning friendship is tested, however, when Dean Horne, a pale, besuited charmer, shows interest in them both and plans to reveal his appetite for blood to the one who’ll stand by his side.  

Seventeen-year-old Ivy Sheppard is tired of splitting her time between her dad’s and her mom’s, particularly when her dad uproots their lives to move them in with his new wife and step-daughter. Used to rolling with her parents’ whims, she tries to make the best of it and befriend her nerdy new step-sister. Her hectic life grows more unwieldy when she catches the eye of junior Calder Poole, whom she swears she sees swap well-toned legs for a pair of fins during a dip in a lake. Now she’s fending off suitors left and right, all while trying to get to the bottom of the strange happenings in her town. 

The first book in the Blood, Bloom, & Water series sets family against family and friend against friend as an epic, ancient war comes to a head in a supposedly sleepy suburb. 

Goodreads | Amazon

99¢ for pre-order and first week of sale only. Paperback will be available widely

COVER REVEAL: AER (Book Three of The Elements series), by Tracy Korn.

AHHHH! The cover reveal of Tracy Korn’s YA Sci-Fi / Action Adventure story: AER (Book Three of The Elements series) is here! Are you ready to find out what happened to Liddick at the end of TERRA, Book Two? Are you ready to hear the whole ordeal in his own words? This exciting third in the series is told from two perspectives! Follow some of the crew to a topside world that isn’t the way they left it, and the rest into the virtuo-cine network where truth is blurred, and time is running out! What do you do when reality is the biggest lie of all? Find out in AER: Book Three!

TITLE: AER 

SERIES: Book Three of The Elements series

AUTHOR: Tracy Korn

GENRE: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Action Adventure

RELEASE DATE: May 22

PREORDER: mybook.to/AER

COVER DESIGN: JKorn Photographics (www.jkornphoto.com)
PUBLISHER: Snowy Wings Publishing (snowywingspublishing.com)

BLURB:

THEY WANTED A CHANCE; THEY WERE GIVEN A CHOICE...
... follow the scripted path at Gaia Sur, or face the unknown to find their families. In AQUA and TERRA, Jazz and her friends took the risk, then battled the seven biomes of the "Rush." Now, from high above the earth in Admin City, it's clear their fight has only just begun. Told from two perspectives, the third book in The Elements series sends part of the crew to a topside world that isn't the way they left it and the rest into the virtuo-cine network, where truth is blurred, and time is running out.

FIND TRACY KRON ONLINE:

Author Website: www.tracykorn.com

Series Website: www.theelementsseries.com

Twitter: @tracybonics

Instagram: @tracy_korn

Camp NaNoWriMo April 18: Week One Update.

Since the beginning of the year. I've been working on a re-write of my 2011 urban-fantasy Sibylline Nights, which I've since renamed Triquetra: Choosing Sides. 

I'm on just over 26k words right now, and am taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo with the aim to get the story to at least 65k by the end of April (I'd already written 15k between January and March, and I'm aiming to add 50k in April). 

Some aspects are the same - i.e. the main characters, their names, abilities and backstory/ history, and the theme is still centred around magic and witches. But previously, the story didn't have a clear direction and I didn't feel like the early chapters were distinct enough (it's really tough having three main point of view characters. Gods only know how GRRM does it). 

Now I feel the story has a clear direction, and I have a more thought out chapter plan that's helping me write. Plus I've changed the early chapters so that they're more distinct from each other, where as in the original draft all three MCs went through the same experience, so it was sort of repetitive. Now there isn't that repetition. 

I'm so happy with where it's going, and excited to write this first draft, then get to work on revisions. If you're interested in learning more, I post about it on social media, and this month I've been taking part in the WIP Joy challenge, as well as posting daily snippets from my Camp NaNo progress.

If you're interested in knowing what's been going on in my non-writing life, you can head over to my blog for a full update. http://www.claredugmore.com/blog/long-time-no-blog

COVER REVEAL: Carousel of Faults (The Book Reapers, Book 2), by Mark C. King

Title: Carousel of Faults (The Book Reapers, Book 2)

Author: Mark C. King

Release Date: July 10

Genre(s): YA historical fantasy 

Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing

Designer: Key of Heart Designs

Synopsis: 

Are we defined by our faults?

Naomi Gladwyn’s life went from abominable to amazing. Narrowly avoiding life in a dismal London workhouse, she ended up with an adopted family and dear friends. This new life, however, is not without its thorns. 

Much of her time revolves around Dark Books – books that are so emotional, so influential, that a reader cannot help but carry out what is written, often with deadly results. She now hunts these dangerous tomes with her adopted father, Mr. Stafford. 

But a past mistake, a torturous secret, haunts her and – when revealed – puts everything she has and everything she ever wanted in jeopardy. 

Add to your Goodreads TBR List

Pre-order on Amazon

Sibylline Nights: The Journey - Part Two

Back in 2012 I wrote a post about the progress I'd made on my urban-fantasy Sibylline Nights, comparing the original first chapter of an unnamed story about witch triplets, with the new opening chapter I'd written during NaNoWriMo 2011.

Long story short, Sibylline Nights never made it past the first draft. Somewhere along the editing process I fell out of love with the story, and shelved it. A few years later, I stopped writing urban-fantasy and paranormal altogether, focusing on contemporary romance. 

Fast-forward to 2018, and after publishing All It Takes and serialising Every Moment With You - both contemporary romance - I have the itch to write urban-fantasy again, and have started work on a rewrite of Sibylline Nights. Which, btw, needs a new, more awesome name! 

The concept of witch triplets separated at birth will remain, as will many other aspects of the previous version, such as the triplets' names, abilities etc. but I feel I have a tighter plot this time around, with a clearer direction; something the previous draft lacked, and contributed to me shelving the story. 

I've written 3,500 words on the new draft since Monday, and I love it. I've only written three chapters so far, but already it feels so much stronger than the previous version.  I'm so excited to be working on this this again.

Here's a snippet from the new opening chapter:

The mother hesitated, but only for a moment, before she pulled back the blanket to reveal a girl of about two with a large laceration across her torso. 

Hands quivering, Esmee reached out and laid her palms on the child’s wound. In an instant a bright white radiated from her fingertips, and where the light touched the cut, the skin fused together. 

“Well I’ll be dammed, you’re a witch,” came the voice of the bus driver from behind Esmee. 

Esmee bowed her head, and hastily handed the girl back to her mother, the woman’s eyes widening as she received her child who was now completely healed, though still covered in blood.

Every Moment With You: Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter 23 of Age-Gap Romance 

EVERY MOMENT WITH YOU

is now live on Wattpad and FictionPress

COVER REVEAL: Snowy Wings Publishing YA Fairy Tale Anthology - Magic at Midnight

Happy Wednesday, everyone! 

Today I'm super excited to reveal the cover for the Snowy Wings Publishing YA Fairy Tale Anthology - Magic at Midnight, which is scheduled for release May 29. 

Once upon a time is eternal…

Turn the pages and fall into the enchanting worlds of beloved, age-old fairy tales made new again in this fifteen-story collection from Snowy Wings Publishing.

A girl with long, long hair is trapped in an attic, ensnared by promises of immortality, the radio her only companion. An android wants to believe in her life, that the feelings she has are real—and that she might be just as beautiful as her famous stepsister. A gamer must save her true love from the mysterious, dark entity that has ensnared him in their MMORPG. A modern teen is lured to the fantastical Land of the Dolls, and only her own cunning can help her escape. These are just a few of the bewitching tales found within Magic at Midnight. 

From sci-fi to fantasy, contemporary to historical, paranormal and more, there’s a fairy tale retelling in this collection for every reader. Featuring stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors as well as emerging voices, this anthology will take you to distant worlds and back again—all just familiar enough to make you feel at home.

Add on Goodreads now!

Cover by KimG Design

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My, as of yet, untitled re-telling of the Nutcracker Prince is one of the fifteen stories featured, and here's a little more about it:

Clara Birch has always loved Christmas, and the story of The Nutcracker Prince is her favourite since childhood. 

That’s why she’s determined to attend town's annual masquerade ball themed around the classic fairy tale. It doesn't matter that she's only sixteen, and the ball is held at town's most exclusive nightclub, Sugarplums. Clara and her best friend, Maria, are armed with fake IDs, and they're not taking no for an answer. 

Once at the ball, Clara is approached by a handsome stranger, who offers to buy her a drink. After just one sip, she passes out. When she awakens, Clara finds herself in a strange realm, and though the world is not her own, it’s oddly familiar to her.

She soon discovers she’s been spirited away to the Land of the Dolls; a kingdom ruled by the Nutcracker Prince she so loved as a child.

But all is not as it seems in the Land of the Dolls. After stumbling upon the palace dungeons, Clara discovers the Nutcracker Prince is hiding a terrible secret. The magical Land of the Dolls is nothing more than an illusion.

Now Clara must escape this once enchanting fairy tale realm, before it costs her her soul. 

Every Moment With You: Chapter Twenty-Two

Now we're properly into 2018 I'm back to regularly updating my age-gap romance serial EVERY MOMENT WITH YOU, so expect a new chapter every Tuesday from here on out.

Thanks to everyone who has read, commented on, shared, and liked the story so far. I hope you all continue to enjoy it.

Chapter Twenty-Two now live on Wattpad and Fiction Press.