Monthly Supporters Showcase #3

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Hi everyone and welcome to another monthly supporters showcase! This is where I share the books and blogs of my Ko-Fi members. Please check out their amazing work!

Rebecca Crunden

Rebecca Crunden is an indie author of fantasy and science fiction who lives in Cork, Ireland.

These Violent Nights

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

The Man and the Crow

Some witches curse, others are cursed. And sometimes, the cursed want revenge.

Paranormal Romance Books!

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Hi everyone! In this post we will be looking at books that contains paranormal elements and romance! Have you read any of these books?

Haze

When Eliza Owens gets a phone call in the middle of the night from a girl she’s never met, she doesn’t know what to think. The girl introduces herself as Paige, and says she used to date Erik Stern, Eliza’s fiancé. What’s more, she has something important to discuss.

The only problem? Paige has been dead for years.

Believing it to be a sick prank, Eliza tries to force it from her mind until Sam, Eliza’s older sister, tells her she met Paige only a few weeks before. And, according to Sam, Paige has nothing nice to say about Erik.

The fight which follows shatters the lives of everyone involved, and Erik disappears without a trace.

Five years later, Erik returns to town after his father’s death. Old wounds quickly resurface, and with them several burning questions. None the least of which is: Who spoke to Eliza and Sam if it wasn’t Paige? And why?

Free on Kindle Unlimited

A SLICE of Truth

Run, hide, and don't let them get you. Once SLICE gets their hands on you, there is no coming back. They take your family; they kill your friends— all in the name of some twisted scientific authority.

Jax and Jericho Masterson saw firsthand what SLICE could do when they came for their parents. Now on the run, the two are struggling to live in a world neither of them has ever experienced. Being raised off the grid in the woods of the Smokey Mountains has left them without the skills needed to deal with human society, but they will learn... the hard way.

Marris Stratford only wanted to be the best big brother any little girl could ask for. He never did anything to call attention to himself, and always tried to do the right thing. Never would he have thought to be the target of a government agency no one had ever even heard of. With a dead heart, he will save his kind, even if it kills him.

SLICE- Supernatural Laboratories for the Investigation of Chaotic Entities

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Author Interview: Richard Holeman, Horror Author

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

I write across multiple genres - my earlier books are memoirs, but my fiction leans toward horror, fantasy and whatever genre presents me with an interesting story.

Author Interview: Nooria Tokhi, Author of Romance Novel, Unconditional Love

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

I am a self-published fiction writer. My romance novel, Unconditional Love is my first release.

2. What are your favourite books?

I have many favourite books that I have read in English, Swedish and Danish.

3. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I started writing fiction at primary school.

4. What is your favourite part of the writing process? What is your least favourite and how do you get through it?

Revision is my first favourite and editing is my second favourite part of the writing process.

5. What is your writing routine?

I write in my spare time.

6. How do you balance writing (and everything else to do with it) with the rest of your life?

I work full time, (Oral Care), and I am also very busy with my family life, but I spend time writing before bedtime.

7. What inspires you? How do you beat writers block?

I am inspired by the challenges in my life.

Writers block: When I have a block sometimes, I read some of my old stuff, and usually, the biggest thing is to actually sit down and start doing something.

8. How do you keep consistent/write a lot?

I allow myself to be free of expectations and acknowledge that I will let strangers see my beliefs and skills.

9. Does anyone read or edit your work before publication? If so, how did you find them?

With the help of a professional proofreader, edits are my own.

10. Can we have a sneaky look at your future plans?

Book number one is now published and I am working on my second novel.

11. Finally, what advice would you give to other writers (inspiring, those publishing and those published)?

· Write what you want to read

· Always get feedback

· Use strong language

· Write to connect

Links:

· https://www.amazon.com/author/nooria

· https://nooriatokhi.com

· https://twitter.com/NooriaTokhi

How to Manage Your Mental Health When Moving to University

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When you're moving away from home to go to university, it can be a daunting experience. You're in a new place, with new people, and you're expected to manage your own mental health? It's no wonder so many students feel overwhelmed in their first year. This blog post will give you some tips for transitioning into university and managing your mental health.

Photo by Abby Chung from Pexels

Author Interview: Kyt Wright, multi-genre author

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(Just some of Kyt's books)

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

I started out as a science fiction writer but have written about vampires plus an Edwardian horror adventure and even a tail (sic) about modern mermaids.

The sci-fi novel Sirkkusaga was my first release and the latest is the vampyr adventure-romance, Love Really Bites.

Stop Measuring Your Life in Productivity

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So I'm all for working towards your goals and getting things done. But it comes to a point when you can be over-focusing on productivity in many aspects of your life and this can have a negative impact on your mental health. 

Being productive in the workplace is great (as long as you aren't stressing too much). Similarly, if you have appointments or housework to do, it can be helpful to get some things done, especially if it means that your living space is cleaner and clearer. But for things like hobbies, you should not be focusing on them in a productivity mindset. For example, if you keep thinking to yourself that you need to complete a game or read a certain number of pages, can sour your experience and cause extra stress and anxiety. 

Mental Heath: Social Media & Free Time

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Hi everyone. So I wanted to do another post talking about mental health and wellbeing. 

Something that I have noticed is that I gravitate towards clicking apps on my phone and scrolling, rather than doing my other hobbies in my spare time. Looking at the time I spend on social media is not great. Now I do a lot of book promotion on social media but there is a big portion of that time where I'm just scrolling and checking for threads to reply to. I find it difficult to do nice things, like reading or gaming because scrolling feels less mentally and physically intensive and it can become almost addicting. I've noticed that when I spend a long time on social media, my mental health really goes downhill- I feel anxious and down and become hyper-focused on things that don't really matter. 

Do you like History? Check out these books!

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Hello! In this post we will be looking at some historical fictions (or books with a historical feel) by indie authors! 

The Dacian Enigma (Vialegio Book 1)

The sly deceit and deception of the Dacian King unleashes an Emperor's revenge. A soldier learns the wily crafts of war and politics as he rises through the ranks of the legendary Legion of Gemina. Overreaching ambition lays the framework for fissures within the Roman Empire.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

The Arc of Dacicus (Vialegio Book 2)

Years of provocation and deception have incited the Emperor Trajan to restore the honour of Rome on the eastern frontiers of the empire.

Shameful memories of past humiliations from broken treaties and the dishonourable losses of Roman legions compel the emperor to subdue the frontier territories and to impose Roman hegemony.
Senior Tribune Cletus, steadily elevated by battlefield actions of bravery and courage through the Legion Gemina ranks, finds his allegiances tested as he climbs the ladder of power during the arc of the expansionary campaign.

Hell in High Heels: Villainous B*****s You Won't (BUT SHOULD) Find in the History Books (Very Sweary Histories)

Addressing women in history with a unique perspective and a bit of flair!

History textbooks haven’t changed in at least thirty years. Imagine the author's disappointment when she realized her children were learning the same misinformation she did in K-12. Where the f*** were the women who refused to conform? Who refused to live under a man’s boot? The villains? The criminals? Did they not exist?

A handful of badass women are mentioned, usually in passing, in mainstream history books as a sort of appeasement for the feminist crowd—Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, et cetera, et cetera—but the author, a feminist, was not appeased. Or amused.

You won’t recognize many of the names here, if any, but there are some familiar names who merit a more honest accounting than they’ve been given. These are women who broke the law; who committed murder; who stole; who got a bad rap; who defied convention; who were so f***ing fierce in their own time that contemporary historians exaggerated their villainy.

You ought to meet these badass—and sometimes really f***ing scary—b*****s. Some will make you cheer; some will make you laugh; and some will make you mad.

Author Interview: Denise O. Eaton, Fantasy Author

1) Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

For anyone who doesn’t know me, perhaps the first important thing to know is that fantasy, anime, and magic consume my life. I’ve always liked to escape from the norm, especially since I didn’t have the best childhood growing up. I would cling to any book or program with magic in it and then started to craft my own worlds and stories before I even picked up a pencil as a child. Fantasy is my passion. As an adult, DnD has fueled my imagination more than most other pastimes and has become the inspiration for my debut series, Arigale, whose first entry was released in August 2021.

2) What are your favourite books?

The Giver by Lois Lowry is something I think everyone should read. This book wasn’t required when I was in fifth grade for nothing. The Giver holds you and makes you question a lot of things, especially when read at that age. This book opened me up to a lot of new ideas and helped me form more of my sense of self. Don’t watch the movie. Read the book, no matter how many banned lists it may be on now.